#eastern yellowjacket

Eastern Yellowjacket (Vespula maculifrons), taken November 15, 2025, in Georgia, US

Eastern Yellowjacket (Vespula maculifrons), taken September 29, 2025, in Georgia, US

Eastern Yellowjacket - Vespula maculifrons 

Talk about a blast from the past with these images! In this blog's earlier days, video posts were uploaded to the blog that showcased these hungry Wasps who were dining on freshly caught insect meat. At the time, I was quite happy to feature these examples of insect behavior, but something was brought to my attention as a result of those video being uploaded to YouTube. A helpful watcher left a comment inquiring as to what exactly the Wasp was eating and that a better angle would help. They were absolutely correct! While I had no further videos to share from that day, I did have these images. And so, I hope these pictures can provide a better view of the Wasps' feast on the carcass of a freshly molted Dog-Day Cicada. The head was missing, leading me to believe that the Cicada was decapitated from above, near its exuvia, leading to the head and body landing in two different locations. Genuinely, it was the perfect time to strike since the freshly molted imago hadn't had time to sclerotize and solidify itself. Cicada landed on its back, causing the legs (the ones that haven't yet been harvested) to point up or to the side.

The primary feeding documented in these pictures is the carving up of thorax's innards and biting of the exposed abdomen as the Eastern Yellowjackets dive in for a bite! The Cicada's 4 wings - which weren't even given the change to unfold and inflate - appear in their wavy forms with a faded white-to-green color accentuated by the deep-green of the wing's primary vein. It sounds cruel, but this is the way of things, and Wasps need to nourish their nest's larvae so that they in turn are nourished. Although many Vespula Wasps are often feared due to their ability to painfully bite and sting, their persistence, their attraction to humans (and their food), and their warning stripes (of course), it's always worth remembering that these insects have an important part to play within their ecosystem beyond annoying humans out in the wilderness and stinging for seemingly no reason. The many Yellowjackets of North America are experts at managing pest insect populations to feed the larvae within their nest. Furthermore, they provide valuable assistance as generalist flower pollinators alongside other flying insects. The problems come in when their aggression or feeding instincts surge into overdrive as a result of a nest defense or the seasons changing. Even I'm afraid of Yellowjackets and their propensity to swarm, but that more I learn about them, the less there is to fear. Having that said, it can be absolutely maddening to accidentally stumble on a ground nest and face the wrath of the colony!

Eastern Yellowjacket - Vespula maculifrons

To conclude the unplanned Wasp showcase over the last few posts, I reveal to you a proud worker Yellowjacket that has seized arthropod prey! Over the last while, posts have gone from Nests; to a close relative; to a longer-faced, distant relative; and now we have a common Wasp of an Ontario summer. In more verdant settings, the workers buzz around flowers or ripened fruits where they can gather food to energize themselves. While solid food is tempting, nectar, pollen and fruit juice can actually pass through their wasp-waist. They may also find prey items or pest insects there, which they collect for the nest's developing larvae. In the case of smaller insects, such as the catch in this video, the shredding mandibles are enough to grind prey for transport. Do note, this worker didn't catch her prey on the leaf; she already had captured when she landed, and proceeded to masticate it in an inconspicuous, shaded spot, manipulating the catch using her forelegs. Whether this prey was caught in the air or ground is unknown, but given the discarded legs on the leaf, it's quite possible that a small spider was captured, and will now become food for the young ones. In return for the sumptuous solid food (including valuable proteins), the larvae supply the foraging workers with liquid food. Since that's the case, it's no wonder why Wasps may visit a barbeque party if the scent of steak, chicken or sugar-laden juice hits their antennae!

Some days I put on a costume and film my parents' backyard. Mom helped identify the various flowers with me off-camera because I'm bad at plants.

Because they don't get enough love. Unfortunately they are also very fast, which makes getting photos of them difficult, but as you can see, they really like flowers. :)

I've always thought of them as the cool and elegant versions of their fuzzier, cuter cousins. Never hated them, just respected their space. Those that sting (many don't) only do so when they or their nests are threatened, never for nothing. It's just sometimes "nest threatened" means you accidentally hit it with the end of your broom that you were resting against a tree where you had no idea a nest even was...Anyway, many are carnivorous, but they are also pollinators.

All photos mine, unedited. Featured wasps include stump-stabbers (native), yellowjackets (native), bald-faced hornet (native), and others I'm not sure about. Featured flower hosts include swamp milkweed (native), white wood aster (native), and a rhododendron cultivar (not native).

Eastern Yellowjacket