Help me to identify black and white wasp

I found this nest outside of my shed. Never saw any wasps colored like that. They defend the nest, but so far no bites, so not very aggressive. The picture is the best I can do.

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Was the nest enclosed and perhaps got torn open?

https://www.google.com/search?q=bald+faced+hornet&rlz=1C1GCEU_enUS820US820&source=lnms&tbm=isch&sa=X&ved=0ahUKEwjpjJWT1NfjAhWx1FkKHXA9CksQ_AUIESgB&biw=1307&bih=680

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I think to get a better picture you just need to get closer, lol… Please don’t.

Hard to tell for sure from the picture, bit Google bald-faced hornets and see if that is what you have.

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No, this is how I found it. I think it is the Bald-Faced hornet though. I guess it is a sign of climate change, according to google they are less common in north east. The question now is what to do with them? My DH wants to get them in the bag tonight and take into the woods. I am not sure if it is a good idea…

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Their nests are enclosed, an animal likely ripped the bottom off of this one. If the nest is large and powerful, they can be very aggressive. Very…

They have a fairly broad range: Bald-faced hornet - Wikipedia

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The nest is about a tennis ball size. Not sure if it makes sense to try to save them. I definitely do not want them on the shed - I walk by several timer a day, open the door, hose is stored on the the wall. If they grow any bigger, it will be dangerous.

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Heh, well… That’s probably all I can contribute to this conversation then. Extinction is too good for them and yellowjackets both IMO :wink:

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we have a lot of them here. they make huge nests. sometimes as big as a soccer ball. and their sting is very painful. worse than a yellow jacket. we kill them on sight!

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I don’t have much of an issue with bald-faced hornets. The nests are big and usually pretty obvious. A few times they built a nest a few yards up in a tree that I mow under and I didn’t notice til the nest got big. It was about a yard above my head both times and they never bothered me. Maybe the ones in my area are more passive, but as long as I don’t hit the nest they won’t bother me.
The problem I have with yellowjackets is that I usually don’t see the nest until I’m right on top of the hole and I’ll get stung while mowing or just walking about. Also, bald-faced hornets will kill and eat yellowjackets.

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problem with them here is they like manmade over hangs and hollow places. yes if you don’t disturb them, they won’t bother you but if you do i guarantee you won’t forget the incident! i speak from experience. many kids that encounter them need to get hospitalized! they are very aggressive when disturbed and will chase you a couple hundred yards from the nest. about 10yrs ago i cut a old hollow maple down, not realizing there was a 3ft. long hornet nest in there. me and my brother ran to the truck about 100yrs away. we got about 50 stings each before getting there and the cab was covered with hornets for 20 min. after! the sting feels like putting a staple through your finger.

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For me - Jury is still out. I found a keyword “aphids” in their food source… The enemy of aphids are my friends. As soon as they do not want eradicate me :grinning:. Looks like they made their nest pretty late in the season. They should start it in spring and summer is half gone already. So I hope the nest can stay reasonable sized till October. By the first frost they suppose to vacate it and they usually do not return. So I may just coexist with them until fall… Or a first attack. By the way, about yellow jackets. I thought they are useless in the garden. But today I saw some kind of tiny caterpillars made a web around an apple branch and were having early lunch. The yellow jacket was on the other side of the web trying to get through it. Something tells me it was not invited for lunch, but had all the means to get one.

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We have a lot of Bald-Faced Hornets here. We consider them to be non-aggressive (which is not to say that they won’t vigorously defend their nests!). The real menace for us is the Yellow Jacket. We consider them to be extremely aggressive. I have countless examples of myself and others being stung by Yellow Jackets where they land on you un-noticed and sting for no reason at all. Also, I have numerous examples of fruit being totally consumed by Yellow Jackets.
Sometimes they will make a small hole in a fruit and hollow out the flesh from the inside, leaving the skin intact. If you don’t notice and attempt to pick a fruit in this condition with 6 or 7 Yellow Jackets inside, it really gets your attention.

Since Bald-Faced Hornets prey on Yellow Jackets, we always let the Hornets stay.

The third wasp we have many of are Paper Wasps. They frequently build their nests under the eaves of houses or slightly inclosed spaces. They look a lot like Yellow Jackets but have longer legs, fly more slowly, and are a lot less aggressive. We get rid of these as well since they are usually on the house.

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Bald faced and European hornets both go after figs here late in the season, they aren’t as mean as yellowjackets, but they eat a lot more.

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As I recall from my childhood days in Texas, European Hornet nests get huge. I’ve never seen a Bald-Faced Hornet nest get as big as a football this far north.

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I’ve seen them bigger than a basketball here, they almost wiped me out completely one year. Tried killing them with a tennis racket out of frustration. They usually nest high up in trees, so not easy to find the nest until fall.

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I’ve also seen them bigger than a basketball. Extremely aggressive here I kill them on sight as well I wouldn’t hesitate to get rid of them if there not aggressive yet wait till fall and watch out.

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Surprisingly effective way to stop flying hornets on the wing is to spray them with clear acrylic varnish.

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At various times we’ve had a rich population of a variety of wasps and hornets, with nests often quite near active areas. Stings have been rare and always our fault - mowing over a nest, kneeling on or grabbing an individual, putting a hand into a cabinet that had a nest. I think a lot depends on how you feel about them. We allow them their lives and they pretty much ignore us.

It’s been several years since we’ve had much of any population of either. That is much more troubling. I was pretty excited earlier to see two bald faced hornets in a plum tree (with plenty of aphids!), but haven’t seen any since. We used to have a lot. I love their awesome nests. Last week I spied a ground nest of yellow jackets, very near an oft traveled path on the edge of some brush but we hadn’t noticed any yellow jackets around at all. It was heartening to see they’re still here. Hopefully this is just the natural up and down of population. For the first time in 40 yrs the only bees/wasps/hornets we have in reasonably good supply are bumble bees.

BTW, the best thing I’ve found for stings is onion, of any kind. Takes the pain away surprisingly fast. Then cold to reduce the swelling. Sue

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BTW, the best thing I’ve found for stings is onion, of any kind. Takes the pain away surprisingly fast. Then cold to reduce the swelling. Sue<<

Really! That’s good to know- thanks.

ps- onion, or even onion powder, keeps cut avocados from browning.

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Around here anyway, the yellow jackets are more aggressive late Summer/early Fall. I’ve found this out the hard way. Last year, after accidently uncovering a nest in the rockery, they stung repeatedly, even following me into the house!

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