Hornets: Incredible Insect Architects

Sandra Markle

Jan 2008 · Lerner Publications

About this ebook

Take a closer look at nature’s amazing insect architect—the hornet! Each year, a young female hornet queen selects just the right spot and designs a nest of six-sided cells. Every cell is made from a paper-like material she creates by mixing wood with her own saliva. Once she has a small structure, she lays an egg in each cell and raises her young. Soon the queen has a whole family of workers, which continue to build more cells and increase the size of the hive. These workers also hunt insects for food, care for the queen and her young, and protect the nest. In this exciting book, you can learn what makes hornets similar to and different from other insects. Close-up diagrams reveal extraordinary details about hornets’ bodies, both inside and out. And you can perform an activity that helps you understand how a female hornet queen creates the paper-like material for her nest. Learn more about this exciting member of nature’s fascinating Insect World!

About the author

Sandra Markle is the author of numerous award-winning books for children. A former elementary science teacher, she is a nationally-known science education consultant. Markle has received many honors for her series Animal Predators, Animal Scavengers, and Animal Prey. Several titles have been named as National Science Teachers Association (NSTA)/Children’s Book Council (CBC) Outstanding Science Trade Books for Students K-12, and Animal Predators was honored as a Top 10 Youth Nonfiction Series by Booklist. Over 500 schools participate in Markle's Book Explorers program which provides free resource-packed emails and classroom activities. Markle lives in Lakewood Ranch, Florida with her husband, photographer Skip Jeffery.