WASPS AND HORNETS

PAPER WASPS

It is usually yellow with brown markings or black with red or yellow markings. These wasps are aggressive and they readily sting. People are usually stung while trimming shrubbery or cleaning nests from eaves of houses. -information provided by edis.ifas.ufl.edu Paper wasp nests are made of a papery material that is shaped like an inverted umbrella. It usually has a single comb with up to 250 wasps. Nests are often built under eaves or on branches of shrubs. The eggs are laid in a cell. When the larvae hatch, the wasps feed them. They forage for caterpillars and other small insects to feed the larvae.

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CICADA KILLER WASPS

The fertilized female begins the reproductive cycle by making burrows 0.3 to 1.2 meters in length, with numerous branches and cells. The front legs rake the soil which is pushed out behind the female with her hind legs, resulting in a large dirt mound. The burrows are left open during provisioning and may never be closed. However, the cells are carefully closed when completed. From one to four cicadas per cell are deposited depending on the size of the cicada. -information provided by edis.ifas.ufl.edu

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BALD FACED HORNETS

The baldfaced hornet constructs aerial nests often a foot or more in diameter. The wasp is easily recognized by its black and white color and by a black anterior half or more (terga I-III) of the abdomen which is black. Relatively little is known about this species despite its abundance and wide distribution. -information provided by edis.ifas.ufl.edu

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