Yellow Jacket, Fore and Aft

Monday, June 22, 2020,

This is a Yellow Jacket. I was photographing Bumblebees in Kings Park when I noticed this scary looking critter on an old piece of lumber. It seemed to be eating something on the wood, or maybe even the wood itself. I was somewhat hesitant to examine its actions closer. Call me a wuss. I can take it. 🙂

This colorful wasp would spend a few minutes “nibbling” at the wood and then it would fly off, only to return to the same spot after ten minutes or so. This went on for about an hour. When I got home, I did some research and found out that Yellow Jackets will chew wood and mix it with their saliva in order to create a quick-drying pulp with which they use to assemble their nests. Pretty cool, right?  JK

JK

 

4 thoughts on “Yellow Jacket, Fore and Aft

  1. It seems you got pretty darn close for someone to call you a wuss! Unless you had a lens like the kind that can see planets far away, I’d not call you such names getting this close to one of these nasties. I have to say, I appreciate the chance to see the markings so crisp and clear. Although he’s not an attractive bugger from the front, the pattern on the dangerous end was surprising and quite pretty — in a still picture, that is!

    Will we have any gentler bumblebee pictures coming soon?

  2. As it turns out, what I thought were Bumble Bees were actually Carpenter Bees. But, yes, they will be making an appearance here soon. JK.

  3. I like Carpenter Bees. The are like the B-52s of the insect world. Or, should I say, Bee-52s? 🙂

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