Baldfaced Hornet

Participants in the OGIA/OSU Extension Diagnostic Walkabout held this past Monday in Cincinnati Parks’ T. M. Berry International Friendship Park observed the handiwork of our native Hydrangea Leaftier Moth caterpillars. The moth’s caterpillars appear to feed exclusively on our native Smooth Hydrangea, as well as varieties and cultivars.

Wasp nests have been with us since the beginning growing season; however, they typically don’t appear on our radar until late in the season when the colonies reach their zenith. But this year, Extension offices are already receiving complaints about wasps; particularly yellowjackets. It appears that yellowjacket populations are running high thus far this season producing stinging commentaries about close encounters.

Yellowjackets (Vespula spp. and Dolichovespula spp.), Baldfaced Hornets (D. maculata), and Paper Wasps (Polistes spp.) belong to the wasp family, Vespidae. These wasps share many traits including defending their nest at all costs and an ability to sting multiple times without dying.

Entomologists consider any insect that belongs to the hymenopteran family Vespidae to be a wasp. This includes yellowjackets (Vespula spp. and Dolichovespula spp.), baldfaced hornets (D. maculata), and paper wasps (Polistes spp.). "Bees" belong to the hymenopteran family Apidae.

This is the time of the year when wasps expand their nests at an exponential rate which explains the number of e-mails I've gotten recently about stinging encounters. A common question has been "where did the nest come from?"