When I was growing up I used to sometimes see these huge black and white hornets which were bigger than my thumb (although I guess my adult thumb is bigger). These monochromatic monsters were bald-faced hornets (Dolichovespula maculate). They live across North America from Alaska to Texas, from Nova Scotia to California.
“Bald-faced” means shameless and undisguised (it is a very good phrase for 2016). These are shamelessly undisguised wasps. They are beautiful, in a sort of nightmarish alien shocksoldier way, with cream-colored mouths and ivory abdominal markings contrasting against a midnight black body with purple iridescence. They have matte black legs and smoke-colored wings. Adult wasps are 19 millimetres (0.75 in) in length and the queens are even larger. Dolichovespula maculate is not a true hornet, but rather a sort of yellowjacket wasp—predatory wasps of the genus genera Vespula.
Like the terrifying giant hornet, bald-faced hornets are predatory carnivores. They smash into the hives of other hymenoptera (like lovable honey big-hearted bees) and gobble up all of the bees, larvae, and honey. They aren’t just chaotic hunters: they are also weirdly omnivorous. Wikipedia says “They have been observed consuming meat, spiders, fruit and insects. Adults will also drink flower nectar.” What the heck? That sounds like a banquet for dark elves!
The creatures are eusocial. They band together in a hive of 300-700 individuals. Their nests are built of disturbing grey-yellow paper-type material which seems like it was excreted by a Steven King monster (which actually seems like a pretty good description for the bald-faced hornet). You are probably curious about where this bruiser falls on the Schmidt Pain Index. Although the wasps are bigger than their close cousins the yellowjackets, both creatures score the same SPI number: 2.0 (exactly in the middle of the four point scale). They also are tied with honeybees (which are smaller but pack a potent one-time-use wallop. The description of a bald-faced hornet sting is particularly poetic and sounds like a restaurant’s blurb for an autumn pie or a painful cup of coffee. According to the pain index, the sting of Dolichovespula maculate is “Rich, hearty, slightly crunchy. Similar to getting your hand mashed in a revolving door.” I am glad I gave these characters a wide berth when I was growing up…but I am glad I saw them too. They are intense animals.
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August 4, 2016 at 6:58 PM
Neomys Sapiens
Painful cup of coffee?
try this one:
http://www.the-whiteboard.com/autotwb2149.html
August 4, 2016 at 7:07 PM
quinn
Just seeing the top image made the skin prickle all along the sides of my face – apparently the body does not forget the first encounter with a white-faced hornet, however many decades ago. I see them every year, but haven’t been stung (touch wood) in ages. It always seemed to me they should be called “white-butt hornets,” because that’s the only part I usually see, thank goodness. Maybe referring to their butts would piss them off somehow? Not worth the risk, I guess.
August 5, 2016 at 5:00 PM
Wayne
Yeah…we should probably call them “Ma’am” and just do what they want. I am kind of allergic to bees (I swell up and get confused) so I am certainly not going to insult their bee-hinds!
I am sorry you got stung! Is the Schmidt Pain Index description right?
August 19, 2016 at 2:50 AM
Beatrix
I was moving some old crates around in the back garden & unknowingly disturbed a nest of Vesta tropica/the Greater Banded Hornet here in Nepal. Oh mercy. I was repeatedly stung about 15 times. That was like being stabbed with white hot nail repeatedly. The pain lasted for 9 hours. Then the stings itched for 5 days. I’ve been stung by bees, fire ants, and yellowjackets but that was the worst. Two children recently died from being stung by these hornets in a nearby village- https://thehimalayantimes.com/nepal/jajarkot-kids-die-hornet-sting/
August 26, 2016 at 4:42 PM
Wayne
Oh god–that is terrible. I am so sorry, Beatrix. Have you fully recovered? It sounds like I need to write about Vesta wasps, but frankly I don’t want to get on their bad side. It also sounds like you can personally judge the merits of the Schmidt Pain index. Why do hymenopterans hate you so much?
October 7, 2016 at 9:23 PM
Carolina Honeybees - Beekeeper Charlotte
Interesting insects and terrifying. LOL