Yellow jackets are black and yellow patterned insects that are found buzzing around trashcans and picnic tables. They are considered a nuisance and can deliver a painful sting. However, most yellow jackets are very beneficial.
Yellow jackets eat other insects, mostly pests, and can help keep gardens free of flies and caterpillars. They are also scavengers. Usually, they will eat garbage, meat and sugary substances, like sodas. Yellow jackets seek out sugary foods at the end of the summer due to limited sugar production in the larvae. Yellow jacket adults rely on this sugar production from the larvae for food. That's why yellow jackets can be found in greater abundance as summer wanes.
Yellow jackets build nests out of cellulose or paper, and a queen does the initial work. These nests are usually built underground or in crevices that exist naturally, in rocks or trees. The queen, who has hibernated through the winter, will build the nest and lay eggs, creating a colony. The queen begins the colony by laying eggs and feeding them.
The colony will grow through the summer. The queen continues to lay eggs and produces reproductive males and females. These yellow jackets then leave the nest to mate. The colony begins to die off and the nest becomes abandoned
The inseminated females are the only ones to survive the winter, becoming the new queens in nests they will build when they emerge in the spring.
Yellow jackets can be aggressive, especially when their nests are disturbed. Unlike bees, yellow jackets can sting multiple times because their stingers are not barbed. Never attempt to remove a yellow jacket nest. Seek the help of a pest control expert.