Cameras Capture a Hornet Hatching Up-Close

The dark valley of the bamboo forest is rumbling with activity. Two weeks have passed, and the grubs have transformed their chubby soft skins into a svelte and solid body armor. Claw by claw, the tender, helpless grubs emerge. Tough and hard, and fully equipped to be a new generation of bamboo giants. The same tiny mandibles that called for food are now jagged shears that slice through a thick cocoon. An army awakes. The new hornet stretches her limbs for the first time, and familiarizes herself with her perfectly designed body armor. She uses the bristly hairs on her legs to remove debris from her cocoon. Soon, the same hairs will gather pollen to feed her infant sisters. She disperses her first pheromones, pledging her allegiance to the hive. The golden hairs on her head are sensitive to both light and gravity. They connect to her brain to form the base of her gravity organ, an internal GPS which she will use to navigate her way around the kingdom.