Maybe I’ve led a sheltered life, but until today I had never had the honor of meeting one of these interesting little critters. What a surprise it was as I was following a deer trail through some very thick growth down by the river to come across this huge nest back in the brush.
It measured 12 1/2 inches in height.
One of the residents happened to be home and posed nicely for me.
Goldenrod pollen is one if their favorite foods and sure enough, this was growing near by.
Bald-faced hornets Dolichovespula maculata are not true hornets, but are actually wasps in the genus Vespula. HERE is an interesting website about them.