Lisa Bishop, age 12, of Kenbridge, Va., for her question:

HOW DO HORNETS MAKE THEIR NESTS?

A hornet is one of several large wasps. Most are dark colored and have white or yellow markings.

Hornets were the world's first papermakers. They make large paper nests from plant and wood fibers which they chew. A female starts the nest in spring. She builds a number of cells and then lays a few eggs and feeds the larvae. When the young of the first brood mature, they become workers and help mother enlarge the nest, gather food and rear additional broods. By late summer the nest can be half the size of a bushel basket and contain thousands of hornets.

Nests are usually built under eaves, on porches or in trees. The nest is used only for one season. In the fall the queen leaves to hibernate.