Bald-faced hornet Bald-faced hornet Dolichovespula maculata is a eusocial wasp of the cosmopolitan family Vespidae. Its colloquial names include the bald-faced hornet, bald hornet, white-faced hornet, white-tailed hornet, spruce wasp, blackjacket, and bull wasp. This species is a yellowjacket wasp, not a true hornet (genus "Vespa"). Colonies contain 400 to 700 workers, the largest recorded colony size in its genus, "Dolichovespula". It builds a characteristic large hanging paper nest up to 58 centimetres (23 in) in length. Workers aggressively defend their nest by repeatedly stinging invaders. "Dolichovespula maculata" is distributed throughout the United States and southern Canada, but is most common in
HMS Hornet (1794) 243 tons burthen, and was armed with sixteen 9-pounders. She too had a crew of 30 men.</ref>|group=Note}} "Hornet" was refitted for £3,554 at Portsmouth in June and July 1799. In August "Hornet" was part of the British fleet that captured the Dutch fleet in the Vlieter Incident. Nash then sailed "Hornet" to the West Indies. In 1800 she accompanied a convoy to the West Indies. While at Guadeloupe in October, a boat from "Hornet" attempted to press some men off the "New Ceres", whose crew resisted, killing "Hornet"s second lieutenant, and wounding another crewman. The next day "Hornet" tried again,