# Help me identify these wasps...



## Ross (Apr 30, 2003)

Look like yellow jackets to me.


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## Beeslave (Feb 6, 2009)

They look like the common yellow jacket to me.


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## devdog108 (May 7, 2009)

yup...yj's


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## no1cowboy (May 18, 2007)

I agree with the others.


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## 11x (May 14, 2009)

no doubt about it yellow jackets for shure http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Yellow_jacket


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## Dave Burrup (Jul 22, 2008)

If they were here in Idaho they would be Polestus wasps. They make flat open combs under almost anything including large leaves. A very large nest would be 4-6 inches across. They rarely make a tiered nest. The other YJ species all seem to have more yellow than black and make a covered nest. They are not very agressive and consume lots of insects when raising brood. In the late summer they move to sweet things and become a real nusiance at the hives.


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## afss (Mar 19, 2009)

they look like yj to me too. I don't know that i agree with the agressive part but i guess it depends on how much of a threat they see you as.


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## bhfury (Nov 25, 2008)

Yep a Yellow Jacket....


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## Michael Palmer (Dec 29, 2006)

Dave Burrup said:


> If they were here in Idaho they would be Polestus wasps.


Here, too. I see different size insects in the photo. Are there? Do the large ones look like those black wasps that fly about the eves of your house, or kind with a redish dot on their sides that nest under the outer covers of your hives? They fly with dangling legs, not short ones like YJs. 

There is a new introduced species of Polestus wasp, that has spread. The coloring mimicks Yellow Jackets. So you have to look close.


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## chrissv (Oct 12, 2008)

I grabbed the good camera and took some more pictures. Here are the yellowjackets on watermellon:

 

I liked the picture of the head of the yellowjacket on the second picture above.

I put some pollen patties on my hives, and left the paper cover out hoping the bees would get the pollen. But the yellowjackets seemed to like it better. I noticed something interesting in this picture:



This picture looks like it has 2 different speecies. Note the different proportions in black and yellow stripes in the 2 insects. Also, the insect on the left has more yellow on her face compared to the insect on the right. This is fascinating to me - I've never paid attention like this.


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## m.zook (May 2, 2009)

Dave Burrup said:


> They are not very agressive



Here in va that is the most agressive bee we have. They will sting you for no reason! Ive been stung by these bees more often than any other bee including my honeybees.I promise you if you ever mow or step near there nest you will never forget what kind of bee a yellow jacket is.


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