Bald-faced hornet arthropods, chewing them up and feeding them to the larvae. They have been known to scavenge raw meat. In late summer and early fall, the queen begins to lay eggs which will become drones and new queens. After pupation, these fertile males and females fly off to mate. Fertilized queens then overwinter and start new colonies during the next year. Males and workers die in the end of the cycle. The old queen, if not killed by workers, dies with them around mid autumn. Bald-faced hornet Dolichovespula maculata is a eusocial wasp of the cosmopolitan family Vespidae. Its colloquial names
Hornet visible under high magnification) and can easily be withdrawn and so are not pulled out of their bodies when disengaging. The toxicity of hornet stings varies according to hornet species; some deliver just a typical insect sting, while others are among the most venomous known insects. Single hornet stings are not in themselves fatal, except sometimes to allergic victims. Multiple stings by non-European hornets may be fatal because of highly toxic species-specific components of their venom. The stings of the Asian giant hornet ("Vespa mandarinia") are among the most venomous known, and are thought to cause 30–50 human deaths annually