Hornets, known for their distinct appearance and paper-like nests, often prompt questions about their behavior during colder months. Hornets do not stay in their nests during winter. Their annual life cycle involves a significant change as temperatures drop, leading to the abandonment of the colony’s home.
The Hornet Life Cycle and Winter Survival
The hornet colony thrives throughout the warmer seasons, with a queen, male drones, and numerous sterile female workers. As autumn approaches and temperatures begin to fall, a shift occurs within the colony’s structure. The existing queen, worker hornets, and male drones perish with the onset of cold weather. Hornets are cold-blooded insects; temperatures below 50 degrees Fahrenheit hinder their ability to fly and forage, leading to their demise.
The survival of the species rests on new, fertilized queens produced late in the season. These newly mated queens leave the nest to find protected locations where they can enter a state of dormancy. They seek shelter in various concealed spots, such as under tree bark, within rotten logs, among leaf litter, or even underground. This allows them to conserve energy and endure winter conditions until spring arrives.
What Happens to the Nest in Winter?
Once the cold weather sets in and the colony dies off, the hornet nest becomes abandoned. These intricate structures, typically constructed from chewed wood fibers mixed with saliva, are not designed to withstand prolonged exposure to winter elements. The paper-like material gradually deteriorates due to rain, wind, snow, and natural decay.
Abandoned nests pose no threat from hornets, as no living insects remain inside. Collecting a nest after several hard freezes ensures any remaining inhabitants are deceased. While a nest might remain physically intact for some time, it is harmless.
Why Nests Are Not Reused
Hornet nests are annual structures, built anew each spring and never reused by subsequent generations. Newly emerged queens, after overwintering, select an entirely new site to construct their small nest. This behavior is driven by biological factors that make reusing an old nest disadvantageous.
Old nests can harbor parasites, diseases, or fungi that could compromise the health and success of a new colony. The structural integrity of a nest degrades after a season of use and exposure to weather. A new queen’s instinct is to find a fresh, secure location offering protection and resources for her colony, rather than relying on a weakened or contaminated structure.