This is a bald-faced hornet nest. Empty, of course. We found it just off the trail at Patterson Lake, not far from Sun Mountain Lodge. In the spring the hornets build a football-shaped paper nest for raising their young. The queen selects a spot for the nest and lays the first batch of eggs that will become the workers. Their job is to expand the nest, which they do by chewing up wood and mixing it with their saliva. The queen lays eggs all summer. When winter comes the wasps die, except for the new queens who hibernate underground. In the spring the cycle begins again...The nests are marvelous, delicate and completely exposed to the elements. On the nest above you can see how the clever wasps used stems of grass as support. Tom spotted it as we walked along the trail back to the car. It was torn and deserted, but some (smarter?) members of our party gave it a wide berth anyway. Fools rush in. I pulled it off and brought it home wrapped in tissue paper. A Wikipedia article said "the bald-faced hornet will attack aggressively with little provocation and sting repeatedly." So, their highly-visible nest is probably warning enough to scare off (most) animals. Here's a picture of an intact one:
The world is a dangerous place whether you live in Manhattan or the Methow Valley. It would be unfortunate to brush against a hornet nest while clumping along on a horse, or just innocently walking along with your mom and dad. Whenever we visit Amanda and Tom we're impressed with their careful parenting and teaching along the trail of life. Perhaps Nana was not setting a good example.
Bald-faced hornetA pretty creature, but all business.
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