Yellowjacket

Yellowjackets are a group of social wasp species found across North America, Europe and other temperate regions, recognized by their bold black and yellow banded markings and their aggressive defense of their nests, which are typically built underground, in wall cavities or in other sheltered spaces from a papery material the wasps make by chewing wood fibers mixed with saliva. Colonies are founded each spring by a single overwintered queen and can grow through the summer to include thousands of workers, which forage for insects and other protein to feed larvae early in the season and increasingly seek out sugary foods, including human food and drink, later in the season, a habit that makes them familiar and unwelcome visitors at outdoor gatherings. Unlike honey bees, yellowjackets can sting repeatedly without dying, and colonies typically die off each autumn except for newly mated queens that overwinter to start new colonies the following spring.