Hornets, a type of social wasp, are annual insects in temperate climates, meaning their entire colony cycle concludes each year. Yes, hornets leave their nest in the winter. The vast majority of the population, including all workers, males, and the old queen, dies off when cold weather arrives. This leaves the distinctive paper nest completely abandoned and inactive for the winter season.
The Fate of the Colony
The end of the hornet colony is triggered by the natural progression of the seasons, typically in late autumn. As daylight hours shorten and temperatures drop, the colony’s reproductive phase begins, and the social structure dissolves. The original queen stops laying eggs, and sterile worker hornets cease foraging and nest maintenance.
Workers and male drones are not biologically equipped to survive freezing temperatures, so they perish, often with the first hard frost. This mass die-off means that by the time winter is fully underway, the hornet nest is empty of live insects.
The nest, constructed from a paper-like material of chewed wood fibers and saliva, is not built for multi-year use. Because hornets do not reuse old nests, the abandoned structure is harmless and poses no stinging threat. Unlike perennial insects such as honeybees, a new colony will not reactivate an existing hornet nest in the spring.
The Queen’s Overwintering Strategy
The survival of the species relies entirely on the new, fertilized queens, also known as gynes, produced in late summer or early fall. These newly mated females leave the colony before the workers and old queen die off, seeking an isolated location for the cold months. They accumulate large fat reserves necessary to fuel their survival through the winter.
The queen enters a state of dormancy called diapause, which is a hibernation-like condition where her metabolism is significantly slowed down. This allows her to conserve energy without needing to feed. She seeks out protected microclimates, such as under loose tree bark, in rotting logs, within wall voids, or buried in leaf litter or soil.
During diapause, the queen is alone and defenseless, relying solely on her sheltered location to avoid freezing or predators. The success of this overwintering strategy determines whether the hornet line will continue into the next year.
Starting the New Annual Cycle
The period of diapause ends in the early spring, triggered by rising temperatures and increased daylight. The newly emerged queen, or foundress, is solely responsible for initiating the new colony cycle. Her first action is to find a source of liquid food, such as tree sap or nectar, to replenish her energy after months of dormancy.
She then searches for a suitable, secure nesting site, which could be an attic, a hollow tree, or under a sheltered eave. The foundress constructs a small initial “starter” nest, building a few cells from chewed wood pulp. She lays her first batch of eggs and personally cares for the resulting larvae until they mature into the first generation of sterile worker hornets.
Once these workers emerge, they take over the duties of expanding the nest, foraging for food, and caring for subsequent broods. The queen then focuses exclusively on laying eggs, rapidly expanding the colony throughout the summer. This process confirms that every hornet season begins with a completely new construction, leaving the previous year’s nest permanently abandoned.