Image of Dolichovespula

Description:

Photographed in New Bedford, Massachusetts, by Harvard University, Dept. of Environmental Health and Safety entomologist/environmental biologist, Dr. Gary Alpert, this image depicted a newly begun, initial Bald-faced hornet, Dolichovespula maculata, nest. Bald-faced hornets are common in both wooded and urban areas in New England. A carton nest, which is more or less a nest within a nest, as seen in this image, a queen starts a new nest each spring after the weather warms up in late April or May.
Created: 2006