Up to 3,000 (many more in warmer states) wasps can be present in the yellowjacket colony. They construct paper nests up to several feet across that contain combs arranged like the floors of a building covered by a papery envelope. Often mistakenly called “bees,” yellowjackets are in fact wasps. Notoriously aggressive, the yellowjacket’s shiny yellow and black striped abdomen is an unmistakable warning. More people are stung by yellowjackets than any other type of wasp or bee. Many find their way into structures and are later seen crawling sluggishly across the floor when temperatures rise in late winter or early spring. Late in the year, colonies of paper wasps, yellowjackets and hornets produce new queens that abandon the nest (it will not be reused) and seek shelter for winter. To feed the larvae, paper wasps capture insects, especially caterpillars. Larger nests can harbor up to 75 paper wasps including larvae and pupae developing within the cells. A paper wasp nest is a single comb of hexagonal cells made of a papery material the wasps form by chewing wood and mixing it with saliva. dominula) which is black and yellow, resembling a yellowjacket. fuscatus), a black to reddish-brown wasp up to ¾-inch long, and the European paper wasp ( P. Common species include the northern paper wasp ( P. They are also known as “umbrella wasps” because their nests look like umbrellas hanging upside-down from eaves and overhangs. Paper wasps are perhaps the most common wasps around structures.
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