Yellow Jackets
Vespula spp
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Appearance:
Yellow jackets are black and
yellow in color, and are easily confused with bees. The yellow jacket
has a smooth stinger that can be used to sting multiple times.
Size:
Range from ½ to 1-inch in length.
Behavior:
Yellow jackets are social insects that have a colony division of labor
between undeveloped female workers, males, and fully developed female
queens. The queen builds a small paper nest and lays several eggs which
hatch and mature into adult workers. Nests are constructed of several
layers of comb made of tiny bits of wood fiber chewed into paper-like
pulp.
Habitat:
Yellow jackets build large paper nests in the ground, or in tree stumps
near the ground. These nests can be very large, containing thousands of
wasps who will forage out up to 300 yards away in search of food.
Though the adults only feed on plant nectar, they will kill other
insects or small animals to feed them to the larvae.
Interesting Fact:
Rapid movement or vibration near a nest will alert "guards" who release
an alarm pheromone causing the nest to attack the nearby offender.
Since yellow jackets, as with all other wasps, don't loose their
stingers after stinging, an attack by several thousand insects can be
extremely painful (even fatal to persons allergic to wasp venom).
Control:
Do you live in Southern California and think that this pest may be invading your
home or yard? Trump Pest Control offers specialty treatments
designed to control and eliminate this pest!
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(877) 270-2847 Office (877) 962-3794 Fax
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