learned something today

Normally I expect at the end of summer to have the yellow jackets (hornets) trying to help you eat your bar-b-q this time of year. But as i was decandling some yellow pine needles I noticed them going over the same pines looking for aphids. So i decided to put the hornet traps away until later. It changed my view of them from more of a pest to maybe something helpful.

I'm glad you correctly identify the "yellow jackets" as a wasp or hornet, so many people think they are bees, and equate them to honeybees. As far as I know, most wasps and hornets are mostly predator insects, getting the bulk of their food from preying on other insects, or carrion. Many are omnivorous, seeking out sweets from over ripe fruit, but the bulk of their diet is insect protein. I really hate dealing with the ground nesting form of the "German Yellow Jacket" a species introduced into the USA and now found nation wide. They are quite aggressive, the vibration of a lawn mower will send a swarm up and out of their burrow in full attack mode. Ouch.

And worse yet, yellow jackets do not have a barb on their stinger, so the same nasty beast can sting you more than once.

But they do eat bugs, and as much as is practical I do try to let them be.

Wikipedia has an interesting read. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Yellow_jacket