First a queen starts to build a nest. This depends on the weather. In North America this happens in spring. As the hornet that starts to build the nest, she is the architect of the nest's design. In the built space she will lay eggs. These hatch, and become larvae. The queen will feed the first larvae, until they make a cocoon. After transforming, they will become the first "workers". These will do most of the work. The workers will build a hierarchy amongst themselves.
If the space where the nest is built becomes too small, the colony will move to another spot.
In autumn young queens will hatch. Young males will hatch from unfertilized eggs. These males are called drones. The young queens will build a cocoon to spend the winter, once they have been fertilized. All the other animals will die with the first frost.
Hornets and yellowjackets are good for gardens. This is because their prey is mostly made of insects which are considered pests. They also feed on bees, but their colonies only last for a year, they die in winter. A medium-sized colony, made of 300-400 animals will need about 500g (half a kilo, 1 lb) of food per day, during the high season, that is in the summer months. Animals hunted include flies, wasps, bees, locusts, beetles, caterpillars, dragonflies and spiders.
Hornets are often confused with yellowjackets. Yellowjackets are smaller, and their coloring is different. They are bright yellow and black.
Yellowjackets are attracted to the "sweetness" of human foods, especially in autumn. Hornets feed on live insects, this sweetness does not attract them.
Some other large wasps are sometimes referred to as "hornets". This is particularly true for the bald-faced hornet in North America. The bald-faced hornet is mostly black and white in coloring. This is very different from the black-and-yellow coloring of other wasps. It is set apart by its black and ivory coloration. The name "hornet" is used for this and related species mainly because of their habit to make aerial nests (similar to the true hornets') rather than the nests underground the wasps use. Another example is the Australian hornet, which is actually a species of potter wasp.
There are some animals that have changed their appearance to look like hornets. In these case, looking like a hornet is a defense for the animal, because it will be attacked less often. These animals include the Lunar Hornet Moth, the Hornet Moth, the Hornet Mimic Hoverfly. This behaviour is called Batesian mimicry
There is a kind of beetle, called "Velleius dilatatus" that lives with hornet nests. It lives from the leftovers of the hornets' food, and from dead hornets. It finds hornet nests with its very good sense of smell.
Flying hornets which are hunting and which are not close to their nest will usually not sting, unless they feel threatened. They should not be squeezed; making a breeze at them can also irritate them and make them feel threatened.
Hornets hunt when there is only little light available - humans will call it darkness. Like other insects they are attracted to light. If possible, the light should be extinguished for a short time. The hornets will then continue as usual. If it is not possible to put out the light, a glass jar can be used to catch the hornet. With a paper under the glass, the hornet can then be transported to a safe place away from that light where it can be released.
Hornets will defend their nest, or hive. Depending on the species of hornet, they will do this in a radius of between . Concussions within that radius should be avoided. If they are disturbed often, they will make this radius bigger. There are specially trained people who can move hornet nests - note that in many parts of Europe, the hornet is an endangered species; killing a hornet, destroying or disturbing a hornet nest can lead to a fine.
Hornets have a stinger. They use this to kill prey, and to defend themselves.
Hornet stings can be very painful, but they are not more dangerous than the stings of other wasps or bees. With every sting, there is the danger of an allergic reaction and of shock after this reaction. Also, stings in the area of the mouth can make breathing difficult, or impossible.
People who are allergic develop an Anaphylaxis - an allergic reaction. This can be fatal, if it is not treated immediately with Epinephrine (also known as Adrenaline).
Hornets can alert the whole nest. This means that all workers there will defend it. This can lead to a dangerous situation. One sting of a hornet is not dangerous; with 200 to 250 of them, the situation is different.
Geb
In Egyptian mythology, Geb was the god of the earth. Geb was the husband and brother of the sky goddess Nut and the father of Osiris, Isis, Nephthys, Horus the Elder, and Seth. When Seth and Horus (Osiris' son) fought to become the king of Egypt, Geb made Horus the ruler of the living. Geb's parents are Tefnut and Shu.
The ancient Egyptians believed that earthquakes were Geb's laughter.
The animals of Geb are a snake and a goose (a goose is sometimes depicted on Geb's head). Geb is sometimes equivalent to Greek titan Kronos. Geb's name means "weak one" or "lame one". Geb is also god of vegetation, and his other names are Seb, Keb, Kebb, Qeb, and Sebb.
Geb hatched his egg, which would become the sun. Geb married Nut and had five children. Their names were Osiris, Isis, Nephthys, Horus and Seth. Osiris and Isis married and eventually Set and Nephtys married. One night Set measured Osiris to make a tomb for him. They made a huge festival and there were many presents. The last one was a little box. A couple of villagers tried to fit into the box but it didn’t work. Then Osiris came and it fit perfectly! But then Set shut it with Osiris inside and put molten lead over it so Osiris could not breathe. When Isis found out, she was very sad and cried. She searched desperately for Osiris' body. Isis eventually found the body and buried it properly. She looked at Osiris and then closed the lid gently. Set, terrified that Isis may bring him back to life, searched for Osiris' buried body. And, when Set found the tomb he cut him into pieces. Isis put Osiris back together so he looked like a person again. Then Isis had her first child named Horus. When Horus found out that his dad died, he tried to kill Set and Set tried to kill Horus. Eventually Set got a huge wound that was filled with blood. When that happened, Geb said that Horus could take over Osiris’ place.
In Geb’s temple, priests fed him everyday like many of the other gods. When gifts were given, people were allowed to go to the gate or the forecourt. The priests would collect gifts that the ordinary Egyptians gave to the gods. Priests would pray to honor Geb for the people who came to the temple. The temple was made out of big stone columns that supported a great big hall. There were also very big gates that opened up to the Great Hall. The rooms or chambers were lit by candles, and incense would make the rooms smell nice and clean the air in the temple. The chambers gradually decreased in size as priests went in and created a mysterious feeling. The priests then found the chapel in the shrine, which contained the Naos (a naos is a small shrine) which had the statue of Geb.
Geb’s symbol was a goose and his skin was sometimes green, representing the Nile River or black representing rich soil for vegetation. Geb was depicted as a man wearing the crown of the North and other times he wore the crown of the South of Egypt. Geb also sometimes wore a white crown or a goose on his head representing the earth. Geb held a staff in his left hand and in his right hand he usually held an ankh, which is the hieroglyph that meant life. Not only did Geb wear a goose on top of his head but sometimes his would be covered by a goose head.