What Are Yellow Jacket Wasps Good For?
WouterUnlike many wasps, yellow jackets are not primarily predators. Instead, they are parasites that parasitize other insects, whiteflies, and caterpillars. They are beneficial to gardeners and eaters, but they can be a pest if left unchecked.
Yellow jackets build nests in both underground and above ground locations. They live in large colonies. Their numbers peak in summer and early fall, but they die off as the weather turns cold.
Yellow jacket nests are constructed with multiple tiers of vertical cells. They are made of fibers scraped from wood and saliva. Yellow jackets will often choose to nest in secluded places, such as ground cover beds, brush piles, and rotting logs.
Yellow jackets often live in large colonies. In these colonies, the queen lays eggs and raises workers. In spring, the queen starts a new nest. The colony can grow to several thousand workers and queens.
Yellow jackets often nest under eaves, in hollow posts, and in house foundations. In addition to these, they are also found in abandoned cars and in wall voids of buildings.
A nest can contain thousands of workers, queens, and drones. In addition to feeding on protein, yellow jackets also capture other insects and parasitize whiteflies.
In the late summer and early fall, yellow jackets are more active. They are also drawn to yards with a lot of food and insects. If you find yellow jackets in your yard, remove them and cover food residue with a trash can.
