If you’ve seen a member of the Vespidae family – the Dolichovespula maculata in particular – around your home, Russell Lamp would like to hear from you.

The entomologist is looking for active Bald-faced hornet nests; in particular, he seeks the venom the hornets produce, which he provides to pharmaceutical companies that produce vaccines.

It’s not been an easy hunt this summer due to the weather.

At night, Russell Lamp removes a hornet's nest the size of a basket-ball from a tree at Maumee Valley Country Day School. The ento-mologist pumps carbon dioxide in the nest to put the hornets in a sleep state. (Press photo by Ken Grosjean)

“The unusually cold, wet weather we had in the spring has been hard on them and a lot of the queens have been killed off,” Lamp said. “We expect the season will come to an end in late September or so.”

Bald-faced hornets can be found in both wooded and urban areas. Queens start a new nest each spring after the weather warms in late April or May. 

The hornets usually grow to one-inch and have a distinct color pattern – the head, thorax, abdomen, and antennae are black and white. Wings are smoky.

Nests are made by chewing up strips of wood and mixing it with sticky saliva.

Throughout the summer the nests get bigger, until they are about the size of a basketball, Lamp said. He warns they can sting multiple times.

Lamp is willing to remove nests for no charge if homeowners haven’t sprayed or disturbed them.

Later this year, he expects to be looking for nests of the German yellow jacket (Paravespula germanica), which are part of the wasp family, and form large populations from August through October. They often scavenge for human food such as carbonated beverages and ripe fruit and vegetables.

Lamp describes yellow jackets as aggressive and capable of stinging repeatedly.

To contact him - he’s prone to say give him a buzz - call 419-836-3710.

Comments (0)

Subscribe to this comment's feed