Secretive Summer Residents: Bald-Faced Hornets in the Backyard

Last week, the setting sun illuminated secretive tenants hidden among the trees of my backyard. I was sitting with the sun behind me, watching the dusk clouds in the east. That’s when I suddenly noticed a large, pendulous, white football suspended in the branches of the young hemlocks growing among the garden beds.



Apparently, even though I walk around (and occasionally crawl under and through) these very trees, I never noticed my quiet new neighbors who crafted a summerhome above the dog trail to the water-bucket. I’m guessing they’ve been working there since Spring, and I suspect that the tipping point of their decision to set up shop was the hot weather, which heralded the arrival of a kiddie pool.



My new friends are the Bald-faced hornets (Dolichovespula maculata), closely related to the yellow-jacket wasps. Bald-faced hornets are impressive, and intimidating (hence why I don't have a close-up shot of an individual to share). I’ve seen them playing in the mud around the kiddie pool, and they share space with the local wild bumblebees and honeybees on the sunflowers and other blossoms.


I’ve noticed that they like the yellow ragwort (genus Senecio), the delicate Queen Anne’s lace (wild carrot, Daucus carota), and another white wild flower whose name I don’t know yet, but I encourage in the gardens (if you know its identity, please tell us in the comments).

Bald-faced hornets are amazing to watch at work: every few seconds someone flies in, and someone flies out. Sentries sit as inconspicuous bumps on the perimeter of the nest. In total, the nest is probably about 40-50 cm long, with at least one opening (visible in these photos).

According to articles I’ve read, the bald-faced hornets will ignore me if I keep my distance and do not disturb the nest - which seems to be their preference considering how long they've gone unnoticed. Now I’m taking advantage of the opportunity to watch them work.

Once the snow sets in this winter, I’m going to carefully cut down the nest so I can examine it up close. According to my research the bald-faced hornets will be finished with their mating cycle in the autumn, and they should leave the nest with plans to build a fresh home next season (so I won't have to feel bad about robbing them of their hard-earned resources in order to satisfy my curiosity).

Ladybugs

All through the winter we had ladybugs in the cottage. The onset of warm weather drew them out into the trees to do their most important duties of pest control. For the ladybugs however, it’s more a question of a good day’s meal than any interest in the health of our gardens. I’ve watch a ladybug walk along a plant and gobble up aphids like they were grapes… just like the one in this picture is about to do! (Remember that you can always click on images for a closer view).

If you don’t have ladybugs (also known as ladybird beetles) in your garden, or are having trouble attracting them, you can always purchase ladybugs at your local garden or hardware store, from the Ladybug Guy (Buddy Foley) on 15th Avenue West near the Magnolia Bridge if you live in Seattle, or online at Planet Natural. Planet Natural offers a wide variety of beneficial insects, heirloom and organic seeds, and other natural goodies to keep your gardens healthy and green.