Iowa Insect Notes Social Wasps Social wasps such as the hornets, yellowjackets and paper wasps live in colonies in a fashion similar to the honey bees and ants. Hornets build the familiar large nests of a paper-like material made from chewed wood mixed with saliva.
Nests contain many tiers of cells covered by the outer shell with a single opening at the bottom.
Hornet nests are usually located in wooded areas, attached to a tree branch, but may be attached to shrubs, utility poles or house siding. Each nest has only a few hundred workers that are about an inch long and dark with white, light yellow or cream colored markings on the abdomen, thorax, and face. Hornets can be aroused to sting in great numbers, but only when the nest is disturbed or threatened. Yellowjackets build paper nests similar to hornets but either in the ground, a log or landscape timber or building wall or attic. Yellowjackets are commonly observed hovering back and forth at the small nest opening or around garbage cans and other areas where they forage for food.