UNADOGGER wrote:
<<Hornet social chaos..
I find the drone concept interesting. I always thought it was due to dry soil and more disturbance to the nests when the ground is tread upon.[/HTML]>>
My bad, Unadogger; I cannot reproduce the source of that "lore". What I CAN research is that: the increase in attacks is mainly because the colonies are at their maximum annual SIZE (more bugs = more ornery) in late Summer and early Fall. In any case, I don't want to misinform.
Living South is interesting, because the wasps that hang around your house are very laid-back, kinda stupid "mud-daubers". You practically have to EAT them to get stung (answer: no). But up in the APPS, ground wasps are still a nasty encounter.
In Watertown NY, my folks moved out of the house they'd had for 17 years. There had always been stinging wasps outside, esp on the roof; when the buyer inspected, they found a paper nest in the attic space that was more than FIVE FEET in diameter (Can you say "ALIENS" ?) !!
Personally, I feel safer in the woods, on the ground.=^)