Page 82 - BBC Wildlife Volume 36 #10

Clockwise from above:
a male (note the long
black antennae) basks
on a tree stump while
looking for a queen
to mate with. The
larvae develop in
hexagonal cells where
they are fed by the
workers. Note the
protein ball (probably
insect wing muscle)
that has been brought
to the nest. Larvae of
the hornet rove-beetle,
which often lives in the
nest with the hornets
and feeds on their
detritus. The nest is
built up layer by layer.

A predatory role is important; eggs in these cells; these eggs hatch
after about a week and the queen rears the
by feeding on invertebrate larvae on a mixture of mashed-up insects
and spiders. A predatory role is important;
species, hornets contribute by feeding on invertebrate species, hornets

contribute to the functioning of our
to a functioning ecosystem. ecosystems. It is an intensive start to the
year for the queen hornet, who feeds on
carbohydrate-rich substances such as
nectar and honeydew – or even honey
A mated queen hornet will spend the winter stolen from colonies of bees.
alone in a sheltered position, such as under After about two weeks, the hornet larvae
bark or in a crevice of some kind. In common have gone through five growth stages called
with many British insects, she is dormant instars and are ready to pupate. Each larva
throughout the cold winter months. In spring, produces a silk-like substance to close its
she emerges to find a suitable nest site – at cell and then pupates for a couple of weeks.
this time of year, queen hornets can be seen The newly emerging adult worker rasps at
foraging for wood fibres, scraping dead wood the surface of the silk cover with its strong
with their strong mandibles and macerating mandibles, slowly rotating its head while
it with saliva to form a pulp for constructing a progressively scraping away, and only cutting
small, embryonic nest resembling a sphere. through the cover once it has been breached.
Inside are hexagonal cells that open The new worker hornets then remain in
downwards within structures known as the nest for a few days before taking their
combs. The queen will lay her first brood of first flight. During this time they fulfil the

82 BBC Wildlife October 2018