Bald-faced hornet
Dolichovespula maculata
- Identification
- Large black-and-white wasp (actually a yellowjacket relative) that builds a big gray, football-shaped paper nest in trees and under eaves.
- Lifecycle & behavior
- Annual colony; the queen builds an aerial paper nest that grows through summer to hundreds of workers, dying at frost.
- When it's active in Central NY
- Nests become large and conspicuous by late summer in CNY trees, shrubs, and eaves, and the colony defends them fiercely.
- Risk & damage
- Highly defensive near the nest; capable of repeated stings. The exposed aerial nests are often near walkways and play areas.
- Why DIY falls short
- Knocking down or spraying a large aerial nest provokes mass stinging; height and defensiveness make it hazardous.
- How we treat it
- Protective removal with proper equipment and timing, and disposal of the nest so it isn't scavenged.
Bald-faced hornet or yellowjacket?
Bald-faced hornets are black with striking white markings on the face and abdomen tip — no yellow at all — and they are noticeably larger than yellowjackets. Their nest is the giveaway: a large gray enclosed paper structure, often football or teardrop shaped, hanging visibly from a tree branch, eave, or shrub. Yellowjacket nests are usually concealed.
Despite the name they are a type of yellowjacket rather than a true hornet, but the practical handling is the same and they are notably defensive near the nest.
Bald-faced hornets in Central New York
Nests become conspicuous here in late summer, when they reach full size, and they are often noticed for the first time in fall when leaves drop and reveal something that has been hanging there for months. A mature nest can hold several hundred workers.
They will defend the nest vigorously within a substantial radius, and they can sting repeatedly. A nest near a door, walkway, play area, or anywhere yard work happens is worth removing rather than tolerating. One over an unused corner of the property may reasonably be left alone until frost ends it.
Dealing with bald-faced hornet?
Our stinging insects handles it — guaranteed, family-owned, and local.
Bald-faced hornet — common questions
There is a big gray paper nest in my tree. Does it need to be removed?
It depends entirely on where it is. Near a door, walkway, play area, or where you mow, yes — they defend the nest aggressively and can sting repeatedly. In a far corner of the property that nobody approaches, it is reasonable to leave it; the colony dies out with hard frost and the nest is not reused.