Yellow jackets are common insects often mistaken for bees due to their similar yellow and black markings. They are social wasps that frequently interact with humans, particularly during outdoor activities. Understanding their living structures and behaviors can help clarify common misconceptions about these insects.
Hives vs. Nests: The Key Distinction
Yellow jackets do not live in “hives,” typically associated with honeybees. Instead, they construct and reside in “nests.” The fundamental difference lies in their construction materials and overall structure. Honeybee hives are primarily made from beeswax, forming intricate hexagonal combs for honey storage and brood rearing.
In contrast, yellow jacket nests are crafted from a papery material. Yellow jackets achieve this by chewing wood fibers, often from weathered wood or even drywall, and mixing them with their saliva to create a pulp. This pulp dries into a durable paper-like substance, molded into characteristic nests. Unlike the open, exposed combs of many bee hives, yellow jacket nests are frequently enclosed within a protective outer layer.
Where Yellow Jackets Build Their Nests
Yellow jackets choose diverse nesting locations that offer protection and security. Many species, like the Eastern yellowjacket, commonly build nests underground, often utilizing abandoned rodent burrows or other pre-existing soil cavities. They expand these burrows as the colony grows, sometimes creating significant underground structures. Look for small piles of dirt and stones around a small entrance hole as a sign of an underground nest.
Other yellowjacket species, like the German yellowjacket, prefer to build nests in hidden, enclosed spaces above ground. These aerial or cavity nests can be found in tree hollows, log stumps, dense shrubbery, or within man-made structures such as wall voids, attics, and eaves. These concealed locations provide insulation from the elements and protection from predators, allowing the colony to thrive undisturbed.
Inside a Yellow Jacket Nest
A yellow jacket nest has a distinct internal architecture, primarily composed of a papery material. The outer layer of the nest serves as a protective envelope, enclosing the internal structures.
Within this papery shell, yellow jacket nests feature multiple horizontal tiers of hexagonal cells, resembling the comb structure found in beehives. However, unlike honeybee combs, these cells are made of paper and are not used for honey storage. These hexagonal cells function as brood chambers where the queen lays her eggs, and the larvae and pupae develop. The colony’s queen, workers, and developing brood all reside within these intricate layers, contributing to the nest’s growth throughout the season.
Yellow Jacket Behavior and Colony Dynamics
Yellow jacket colonies are highly organized social structures with a clear division of labor. Each colony typically consists of a queen, sterile female workers, and male drones. The yellow jacket colony’s life cycle is annual; a single fertilized queen emerges in spring from an overwintering site, such as a hollow log or protected cavity, to establish a new nest and lay the first batch of eggs.
As the colony grows, the initial offspring develop into workers who take over nest expansion, foraging for food, and caring for subsequent generations of larvae. Yellow jackets are opportunistic foragers, with their diet shifting throughout the season. Early in the season, they primarily seek protein, preying on other insects to feed the developing larvae. Later in the summer and into fall, as larval development slows, adult yellow jackets increasingly forage for sugars from sources like ripe fruits, nectar, and human foods, leading to more frequent interactions with people.
Colonies can reach significant sizes, with thousands of workers and numerous cells by late summer. As winter approaches, the colony naturally declines, with only newly mated queens surviving to overwinter and initiate new colonies the following spring.