The Hornet's Nest, Disassembled

 

So for the last year, I have been calling the nest in our Japanese maple tree, a "Wasps nest."  I now believe it is a Hornet's nest, based on the description of the nests, and the description of the hornets.  Although there are Wasps that are called "Paper wasps" and their nests look similar to our paper nest in the tree, so I am still confused.  I have wanted to cut the nest down during the winter when it was cold and after they abandoned their nest.  The information I found said that they never re-use a nest.  So I never got the nest cut down.  I did want to do that, and then cut it in half to see what the inside looked like.  Well, imagine my surprise when I found a large part of the nest lying in the driveway.  It had disintegrated  from weathering and broke apart.

 

 

There were 4 or 5 of these sections, one on top of another, from the top down, with space in between, so the hornets can get out of their little hexagonal tubes..  The individual sections are about one inch thick and attached to each other, in a slightly staggered arrangement.  This is where the eggs are laid, I believe, and then covered over.  I believe these white objects are openings that were never uncovered, as in maybe the eggs didn't hatch.  What is absolutely astounding is the architecture of these nests, and the perfect hexagons that make up the storage space for the eggs.  These are PERFECT hexagons.  What an incredible amount of work all of this is.  I remember watching the hornets arrive and leave from dawn to dusk, every day!

 

And here you can see a close up of the hexagon openings.  I am just stunned by this design.  We we were so lucky to have the hornets in our tree  They never once bothered us, and it was so interesting to watch them, and now, to see what great engineers they are!