Hornets are social insects that construct intricate nests to house their growing populations. Understanding their seasonal nest building timeline is key to comprehending their biology and annual life cycle. These paper-like structures are central to the colony’s survival and reproduction. This article details the specific periods when hornets construct, expand, and eventually abandon their nests.
Early Season Nest Construction
The annual nesting cycle for hornets begins in early spring, typically April or May in temperate regions, after the last frosts. A single fertilized queen, having emerged from hibernation, initiates this process. She seeks a suitable, sheltered location, such as tree cavities, attics, wall voids, or dense shrubbery, to establish her new colony.
The queen constructs a small, initial nest, often composed of a few hexagonal cells and a protective outer envelope. She lays her first batch of eggs within these cells and cares for the developing larvae. This solitary phase continues until worker hornets emerge, usually in late spring or early summer, taking over foraging and nest expansion duties.
Summer Nest Growth and Development
As summer progresses, typically June through September, the hornet nest undergoes rapid expansion. Once worker hornets mature, they assume tasks related to nest construction, maintenance, and foraging. This allows the queen to focus solely on laying eggs, significantly increasing the colony’s reproductive output.
The workers collect wood fibers from sources like fences or trees, chewing them and mixing them with their saliva to create a paper-like pulp. This material is then shaped into additional layers of hexagonal combs and an expanding outer shell, providing protection from environmental elements. By late summer, a hornet nest can become large, often housing hundreds of individuals, with some reaching populations of up to 1,000 hornets.
Seasonal Decline and Abandonment
The final stage of the hornet’s annual life cycle occurs from late summer into early autumn, generally August to October. During this period, the colony’s focus shifts from producing worker hornets to generating reproductive individuals: new queens and males. These new queens and males leave the nest to mate, ensuring the continuation of the species.
Following the departure of the new reproductives, the old queen dies. As temperatures drop with colder weather, the remaining worker hornets also perish. Hornet nests are annual structures and are not reused, naturally deteriorating over winter. The fertilized new queens seek sheltered locations to hibernate until the following spring, when they emerge to start the cycle anew by constructing their own nests.