I killed about 17 bugs which turned out to be hornets this am.
I did some searching on the internet and as a result decided to look in the tree for the nest.
BINGO ! It is about the size of a basketball - almost.
How long does it take to build a nest this size ??
Must be a matter of DAYS since I am always looking IN the trees for stuff to prune and for insect or caterpillar damage. Due to rain, I have not checked.
TIA
I don't know but the few times I've seen hornets nests near us, they would take at least a week to get to half the size of a fist. Maybe they were finished building them though and had no intention of getting bigger.
Only weeks or months. Hornets build a new colony every year. The workers all die in the fall when food sources disappear; only the queen survives (hibernating) to survive the winter.
Everything you wanted to know about hornets:
BTW, in answer to your question. The nest reaches that size toward the end of the season. So its been building there all summer long.
dickm
:) BINGO ! It is about the size of a basketball - almost. :) :) How long does it take to build a nest this size ?? :) :) Must be a matter of DAYS since I am always looking IN the trees for stuff to :) prune and for insect or caterpillar damage. :) Due to rain, I have not checked.
It probably has been there since Spring/ early Summer. Towards late Summer the size greatly increases due to the now large population working together. That will be about as big as it gets, this time of year their diet will switch from meats to sweets and next years queens will look for a place to hibernate the Winter to start new nests next year.
Lar. (to e-mail, get rid of the BUGS!!
It is said that the early bird gets the worm, but it is the second mouse that gets the cheese.
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