This document describes the dissection of a bald faced hornet nest after the wasps had died off from frosts in November. It warns not to approach a wasp nest while the wasps are alive because they are extremely aggressive and killing one wasp can trigger the others to swarm. The nest was hanging from a tree limb in the backyard and was made of layers of paper-like material formed from chewed tree bark mixed with wasp saliva. The dissection reveals the combs and hexagonal cells inside the nest.

1. Bald Faced Hornet Nest
Dissection
This dissection was performed AFTER the wasps had died off
from repeated frosts in mid-November, 2006. Do not approach a
wasp nest until the wasps die off, because they are extremely
aggressive. Sometimes, the killing of one wasp can set off a
pheromone trail telling the hive to swarm.That would end up
being a very painful experience for everyone involved.

2. This nest was
hanging from a
limb in our back
yard. Even though
they are called
“hornets”, they are
in the vespid wasp
family and were so
aggressive that we
had to avoid a
portion of the
backyard until the
inhabitants died off
from repeated
frosts in
November.