• Sassafras Bee Farm
  • About
  • Contact

Beekeeping365

~ The more I studied beekeeping, the less I knew, until, finally, I knew nothing. But, even though I knew nothing, I still had plenty to unlearn. Charles Martin Simon

Beekeeping365

Tag Archives: yellow jackets

Yellow Jackets by sassafrasbeefarm

09 Monday Aug 2021

Posted by sassafrasbeefarm in pests, swarms, yellow jackets

≈ Leave a comment

Tags

pests, swarms, wasps, yellow jackets

10498706_10203228788015353_7054095228314893808_o

Yellow jackets. Not that you can see any in the picture, this was a call for a honey bee removal. I’ll give the caller credit for thinking they couldn’t be yellow jackets because they weren’t in the ground and they were in a hollow (sort of) cavity. Sometimes those pesky yellow jackets do things differently.

From Wikipedia:

Yellowjacket or Yellow jacket is the common name in North America for predatory social wasps of the genera Vespula and Dolichovespula. Members of these genera are known simply as “wasps” in other English-speaking countries. Most of these are black and yellow like the eastern yellowjacket Vespula maculifrons and the aerial yellowjacket Dolichovespula arenaria; some are black and white like the bald-faced hornet, Dolichovespula maculata. Others may have the abdomen background color red instead of black. They can be identified by their distinctive markings, their occurrence only in colonies, and a characteristic, rapid, side-to-side flight pattern prior to landing. All females are capable of stinging. Yellowjackets are important predators of pest insects.[1]

Yellowjackets are sometimes mistakenly called “bees” (as in “meat bees”), given that they are similar in size and sting, but yellowjackets are actually wasps. They may be confused with other wasps, such as hornets and paper wasps. Polistes dominula, a species of paper wasp, is very frequently misidentified as a yellowjacket. A typical yellowjacket worker is about 12 mm (0.5 in) long, with alternating bands on the abdomen; the queen is larger, about 19 mm (0.75 in) long (the different patterns on their abdomens help separate various species). Workers are sometimes confused with honey bees, especially when flying in and out of their nests. Yellowjackets, in contrast to honey bees, have yellow or white markings, are not covered with tan-brown dense hair on their bodies, do not carry pollen, and do not have the flattened hairy hind legs used to carry it.

These species have lance-like stingers with small barbs, and typically sting repeatedly,[1] though occasionally a stinger becomes lodged and pulls free of the wasp’s body; the venom, like most bee and wasp venoms, is primarily only dangerous to humans who are allergic or are stung many times. All species have yellow or white on their faces. Their mouthparts are well-developed with strong mandibles for capturing and chewing insects, with probosces for sucking nectar, fruit, and other juices. Yellowjackets build nests in trees, shrubs, or in protected places such as inside man-made structures, or in soil cavities, tree stumps, mouse burrows, etc. They build them from wood fiber they chew into a paper-like pulp. Many other insects exhibit protective mimicry of aggressive, stinging yellowjackets; in addition to numerous bees and wasps (Müllerian mimicry), the list includes some flies, moths, and beetles (Batesian mimicry).

Yellowjackets’ closest relatives, the hornets, closely resemble them, but have larger heads, seen especially in the large distance from the eyes to the back of the head.[1]

Read more here: Wikipedia

Feel free to share this on:

  • Facebook
  • Twitter
  • Pinterest
  • Email
  • LinkedIn
  • Reddit
  • Tumblr
  • Print
  • Pocket
  • Telegram
  • WhatsApp
  • Skype

Like this:

Like Loading...

The Enemy of my Enemy is my Friend. by Berks County PA Honey Bee Removal

04 Thursday Oct 2018

Posted by sassafrasbeefarm in beekeeping, beekeeping pest management, pests

≈ Leave a comment

Tags

bald faced hornets, honey bee pests, hornets, management of honey bee disaeses and pests, yellow jackets

About this time of year, for the past several years, most of my honeybee colonies would be fending off hundreds of yellow jackets daily. They also would deal with the occasional baldfaced hornet, but to a much lesser extent. This year however (so far), I have witnessed a grand total of 2 yellow jackets, and 2 baldfaced hornets attempting to harass my bees.

So why the picture of my topbar hive full of European hornets? It was back in May that I noticed a single, huge mother hornet enter my empty topbar hive. I looked through the viewing window to see an adorable little paper cone about the size of a silver dollar hanging from a bar. I was preparing to go in and smoosh it, along with mamma when I thought to spend a minute researching these things. I decided to leave it be, and if it got out of hand, then I’d kill it. It never really did get out of hand in my opinion, and it has been as interesting to observe as any other social insect colony.

Read the full article and follow some links to videos here: The Enemy of my Enemy is my Friend. — Berks County PA Honey Bee Removal 19601

Feel free to share this on:

  • Facebook
  • Twitter
  • Pinterest
  • Email
  • LinkedIn
  • Reddit
  • Tumblr
  • Print
  • Pocket
  • Telegram
  • WhatsApp
  • Skype

Like this:

Like Loading...

Poor Man’s Yellow Jacket Trap

03 Monday Sep 2018

Posted by sassafrasbeefarm in beekeeping, pests

≈ 5 Comments

Tags

beekeeping, beekeeping pests, pests, yellow jacket trap, yellow jackets

yellow jacket trap

I’ve made several traps in the past with varying degrees of success. Here’s one specifically designed that allows the yellow jackets to enter but not the honey bees. I think it is a 5/32 size hole. Last year I tinkered with the mix formula. Instead of totally sweet which would attract the honey bees I stumbled onto a mix of apple sauce, vinegar, and a spoonful of sugar (just enough to get a fermentation going). The yellow jackets like the CO2 and I think and the vinegar is not attractive to the honey bees. I used a 2 liter bottle and filled it about half way full in a short time. If you get your bait mix down it will not attract the bees at all and you can then open up the entrances for the yellow jackets.

Feel free to share this on:

  • Facebook
  • Twitter
  • Pinterest
  • Email
  • LinkedIn
  • Reddit
  • Tumblr
  • Print
  • Pocket
  • Telegram
  • WhatsApp
  • Skype

Like this:

Like Loading...
Follow Beekeeping365 on WordPress.com

Enter your email address to follow this blog and receive notifications of new posts by email.

Calendar

May 2022
S M T W T F S
1234567
891011121314
15161718192021
22232425262728
293031  
« Apr    

Posts by Month:

  • May 2022 (1)
  • April 2022 (1)
  • March 2022 (13)
  • February 2022 (17)
  • January 2022 (4)
  • December 2021 (4)
  • November 2021 (7)
  • October 2021 (1)
  • September 2021 (3)
  • August 2021 (11)
  • July 2021 (18)
  • June 2021 (5)
  • May 2021 (2)
  • April 2021 (9)
  • March 2021 (2)
  • February 2021 (5)
  • January 2021 (16)
  • December 2020 (15)
  • November 2020 (15)
  • October 2020 (11)
  • July 2020 (1)
  • February 2020 (1)
  • March 2019 (2)
  • February 2019 (4)
  • January 2019 (1)
  • December 2018 (10)
  • November 2018 (8)
  • October 2018 (15)
  • September 2018 (25)
  • August 2018 (13)
  • July 2018 (11)
  • June 2018 (27)
  • May 2018 (33)
  • April 2018 (20)
  • March 2018 (20)
  • February 2018 (12)
  • January 2018 (22)
  • December 2017 (18)
  • November 2017 (17)
  • October 2017 (25)
  • September 2017 (27)
  • August 2017 (22)
  • July 2017 (30)
  • June 2017 (28)
  • May 2017 (19)
  • April 2017 (17)
  • March 2017 (19)
  • February 2017 (12)
  • January 2017 (13)
  • December 2016 (5)

Posts by Categories:

  • absconding (1)
  • africanized honey bees (1)
  • apitherapy (1)
  • bee health (6)
  • bee law (2)
  • bee lining (2)
  • bee removals (2)
  • beekeeper (5)
  • beekeeper education (16)
  • beekeeping (615)
    • South Carolina (2)
  • beekeeping author (10)
  • beekeeping books (14)
  • beekeeping calendar (5)
  • beekeeping chores (8)
  • beekeeping equipment (25)
  • beekeeping history (49)
  • beekeeping management (38)
  • beekeeping pest management (9)
  • beekeeping seasons (23)
  • beekeeping vocabulary (16)
  • beeswax (13)
  • biography (4)
  • biology (14)
  • birthday (40)
  • birthdays (34)
  • book review (16)
  • breakfast (1)
  • calendar (5)
  • CCD (1)
  • chores (7)
  • comb (7)
  • comb honey (10)
  • commercial beekeeping (2)
  • cutouts (2)
  • dearth (3)
  • defensiveness (2)
  • diseases (9)
  • drawn comb (6)
  • ecology (4)
  • education (28)
  • equipment (25)
  • extracting (1)
  • fall nectar flow (1)
  • famous beekeepers (27)
  • feeding bees (8)
  • first blog entry (1)
  • folklore (1)
  • food (7)
  • forage (4)
  • hacks (3)
  • hive inspections (8)
  • hive placement (2)
  • hive products (6)
  • honey (91)
  • honey as food (23)
  • honey bee anatomy (3)
  • honey bee behavior (25)
  • honey bee biology (43)
  • honey bee genetics (4)
  • honey bee nutrition (1)
  • honey bee photos (6)
  • Honey Bee Research (1)
  • honey bee vocabulary (12)
  • honey bees (14)
  • honey judging (4)
  • honey recipe (68)
  • humor (14)
  • inspections (10)
  • journal (1)
  • log book (1)
  • making increase (3)
  • management (86)
  • mentoring (2)
  • mites (3)
  • national pollinator week (2)
  • nectar flow (6)
  • nomenclature (1)
  • opinion (9)
  • out yards (1)
  • outyards (1)
  • package bees (1)
  • pears (1)
  • pests (18)
  • plants for bees (3)
  • polish (1)
  • pollen (4)
  • pollination (11)
  • pollinators (7)
  • product review (1)
  • production (1)
  • products (3)
  • propolis (2)
  • queens (17)
  • raw honey (7)
  • recipe (91)
  • removals (1)
  • safety (3)
  • sales (2)
  • season (1)
  • seasons (22)
  • sideliner (1)
  • small hive beetles (1)
  • spring buildup (4)
  • state fair (2)
  • sustainable (7)
  • swarms (26)
  • ursurpation (1)
  • usurpation (1)
  • varroa (22)
  • varroa destructor (13)
  • varroa mites (26)
  • Winter (5)
  • winter solstice (2)
  • woodenware (3)
  • yellow jackets (2)

Sassafras Bee Farm on Facebook

Sassafras Bee Farm on Facebook

Sassafras Bee Farm

Sassafras Bee Farm

Recent Posts

  • Midlands Beekeeping Calendar for June by Sassafras Bee Farm
  • Midlands Beekeeping Calendar for May
  • Why did my bees die?
  • Happy Birthday Dr. Wladyslaw Zbikowski
  • Swarm Catcher Checklist and Tips

Beekeeping365 on Facebook

Beekeeping365 on Facebook

Top Posts & Pages

  • A pint is a pound the world around...
    A pint is a pound the world around...
  • The Russian Scion
    The Russian Scion
  • Building Inexpensive Nucleus Hive Boxes and Queen Mating Nucs
    Building Inexpensive Nucleus Hive Boxes and Queen Mating Nucs

Blog Stats

  • 101,657 hits

Website Built with WordPress.com.

Privacy & Cookies: This site uses cookies. By continuing to use this website, you agree to their use.
To find out more, including how to control cookies, see here: Cookie Policy
  • Follow Following
    • Beekeeping365
    • Join 410 other followers
    • Already have a WordPress.com account? Log in now.
    • Beekeeping365
    • Customize
    • Follow Following
    • Sign up
    • Log in
    • Report this content
    • View site in Reader
    • Manage subscriptions
    • Collapse this bar
 

Loading Comments...
 

    loading Cancel
    Post was not sent - check your email addresses!
    Email check failed, please try again
    Sorry, your blog cannot share posts by email.
    %d bloggers like this: