[HN Gopher] Life Cycle of a Hornet Colony
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       Life Cycle of a Hornet Colony
        
       Author : itronitron
       Score  : 37 points
       Date   : 2022-07-15 07:24 UTC (1 days ago)
        
 (HTM) web link (www.vespa-crabro.com)
 (TXT) w3m dump (www.vespa-crabro.com)
        
       | 1shooner wrote:
       | It is odd to see a perspective that advocates for the protection
       | of hornets because they predate 'annoying or harmful' insects,
       | since I can't really think of an insect that is more annoying or
       | harmful than hornets.
        
         | CoastalCoder wrote:
         | I'm curious what insects the author had in mind.
         | 
         | I have a deep hatred for hornets, but I can think of some other
         | insect species I'm happy to keep in check: mosquitoes, ticks,
         | horse flies / deer flies, cicadas, etc. And probably some
         | caterpillars that can damage our trees by eating their leaves.
        
       | mat24a wrote:
       | In our greenhouse this year a wasp colony formed without anyone
       | noticing.
       | 
       | But luckily the particular species in there is very peaceful and
       | has a comparatively small colony. What is very interesting is
       | that this species does not enclose their nest but build it in a
       | completely exposed way. Very cool as you can always see whats
       | going on in the nest.
       | 
       | https://de.wikipedia.org/wiki/Feldwespen#/media/Datei:Nido_d...
       | This is a picture from wikipedia showcasing the unique nest
       | structure.
        
         | [deleted]
        
         | jmnicolas wrote:
         | I have a lot of them around my house in eastern France. Not
         | dangerous at all (if you don't attack the nest of course) so I
         | let them be.
         | 
         | They're a new specie here, before it was too cold for them to
         | thrive.
        
       | gumby wrote:
       | Interesting that wasp queens (hornet and wasp are basically
       | synonyms) last only one season while bee queens last for several.
       | 
       | Ant and termite queens can allegedly live longer, even decades.
       | What an existance!
        
         | mathgeek wrote:
         | > wasp queens (hornet and wasp are basically synonyms)
         | 
         | While you are correct in your usage of "wasp queens" when
         | talking about hornets, it's because hornets are a type of wasp.
         | It's important to know the distinction if you share a habitat
         | with both, though (even if just to know what type of nest is
         | growing under your awnings).
        
           | dylan604 wrote:
           | Or competitive high schools where these are the two different
           | mascots.
        
       | stickfigure wrote:
       | No mention of the underground-dwelling yellowjackets ("meat
       | bees") that infest northern California picnics. They are
       | definitely not friendly, and not in short supply.
        
         | jyounker wrote:
         | TIL recently: Skunks eat yellowjackets, digging up the entire
         | nest.
        
         | quercusa wrote:
         | I think these are actually https://extension.psu.edu/german-
         | yellowjackets so I'm kind of confused.
         | 
         | > _Unlike wasps, hornets don 't plague picnic areas in the
         | summer in search of food. There is thus no danger of being
         | stung in the throat by a hornet!_
         | 
         | I'm not sure about this either - they seem attracted to open
         | cola cans.
        
           | dylan604 wrote:
           | Well, that just sounds like another great reason to not drink
           | sodas! Then again, not getting stung in the throat by a
           | hornet is pretty compelling for just about anything though.
        
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       (page generated 2022-07-16 23:00 UTC)