What's buzzin' lately

These are "gyne", or egg-laying female paper wasps, Polistes species; on their incipient nests. The first nest is located in a corner under the roof eaves of the house. The second is located inside the cavity formed at the corner of the deck railing.












































































Paper wasps collecting loose wood fibers off the deck surface to make their nests:




































This queen aerial yellowjacket, Dolichovespula arenaria, partakes of some nectar from the Cotoneaster bush out back. In theory, all female paper wasps are capable of laying viable eggs, although only a select few do. In yellowjackets, there are distinct worker and queen castes and only the queens can lay fully viable eggs.






























This is a queen eastern yellowjacket, Vespula maculifrons, also feeding from the Cotoneaster. Aerial yellowjackets get their name because they usually build nests aboveground. Their nests are very similar to the bald-faced hornet nests like that pictured a few posts down. Eastern yellowjackets and German yellowjackets (farther down in this post) nest in the ground, hollow stumps, or wall voids.






























Head-on view of a queen German yellowjacket, Vespula germanica. The three black spots on the face are diagnostic character of this species.