Australian hornet band marking the abdomen. The insects wings are largely translucent, but tinted orange with black areas at the wing's end. Being a member of the potter wasp subfamily (Eumeninae), "A. ephippium" females build large nests in sheltered positions using mud. The females search for prey (including spiders and caterpillars) around trees and shrubs, before sealing the captured insects inside the nest's cells. The larvae then feed upon these insects, before emerging. Australian hornet The Australian hornet ("Abispa ephippium"), actually a type of potter wasp or "mason wasp", is a vespid insect native to the Australian states and territories of the
Bald-faced hornet acts as a selective pressure on the workers, so they are more likely to exercise reproductive restraint. It has been suggested that workers in reproductive nests may kill their queen so they can reproduce. When researchers at the University of Sheffield examined a collection of nineteen "D. maculata" nests during the reproductive phase of their life cycle, they found that 14/19 nests did not have a queen. Matricide might occur after sufficient workers have been raised and queen-destined eggs have been laid. However, matricide has not been directly observed and other causes of death are possible. Diet in "D. maculata"