I watched with dismay today as the
bald-faced hornet systematically attacked and carried off bees to feed its young. The hornet swoops down and captures a bee. Just as quickly it flies up to the paper nest in which it lives high up in a tree above my deck. I'm sure the nest is located there to take advantage of the beehive restaurant.
Here's a face-on look at the lovely insect. I think the hornet looks menacing as I'm sure is nature's plan.
I never snapped a picture of the five bees I watched the hornet capture in the space of less than five minutes, but here the hornet has killed a yellow jacket.
I have these bald faced hornets around my hives. I had no idea they might be killing bees to feed to their young. I thought they were hanging about hoping to sneak in and rob some honey.
ReplyDeleteI've seen my bees drive them away. And even seen them tied into one in the grass fighting it, but didn't know it was because the hornet was actually trying to kill them. I'll definitely have to watch what is going on more carefully.
This is a great blog, Linda! I'm working on a post about the flower spider that's been nailing my honeybees in the recently blossomed borage. You might also enjoy my post entitled "Got Milkweed?" which chronicles the bee-related drama of that plant. It's a jungle out there!
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