Why Being a Queen Hornet Doesn't Mean a Life of Luxury

[BIRDS CHIRPING] NARRATOR: A young hornet queen who survived the winter has found a suitable tree hole to start a new colony. She must start from scratch, single-handedly build the nest, forage for food, lay the eggs, feed her growing larvae. It's a round the clock job. And it lasts for weeks. [MUSIC PLAYING] Finally, 14 days after laying her first egg, the hard work pays off. [BIRDS CHIRPING] Returning to the nest with food, she finds her first hatchling, which immediately starts looking after its sibling larvae. [BUZZING] Now the queen has a nanny in the nursery. She's still the breadwinner, bringing food she rechews for the infants. But they both share feeding duties. [BIRDS CHIRPING] A few days later, she gets a second helper. There are many hungry mouths to feed. Two or three days after the [INAUDIBLE] new workers will join the hunt for food.

Channel: Smithsonian Channel

Views: 580,068

Keywords: TV online, watch, winter, worker, bee, spring, Facts, Drone, nature, pollen, Prey, honey, sibling, predator, Documentary, sugar, channel, stream TV, survival, egg, energy, fruit, nectar, video, pupate, Episodes, free tv, hornet, pupa, colony, smithsonian, forage, free videos, summer, queen

Id: R9f09x_pGRU

Length: 2min 22sec (142 seconds)

Published: Wed Apr 15 2020