Critter Science
  • Zoology
    • Ecology
      • Animal Conservation
        • CITES: Protecting Wildlife
        • Endangered Animals
        • Ex Situ Explained
        • In Situ Explained
      • Ecosystems
        • The Biomes
      • Evolution. The Facts.
        • Animal Devolution
        • Arachnids – What are They?
        • Evolution of Amphibians
        • Evolution of Birds
        • Fish and Sharks
        • Natural Selection
        • Primate Language: The Debate
        • What is a Marsupial?
      • Predator vs Prey
      • Producers and Consumers
    • Sustainability
      • Climate Change
      • Global Warming
      • Pollution
        • Air Pollution
        • Land Pollution
        • Microplastics Pollution
        • Water Pollution
      • Recycling
      • Renewable Energy
    • Animal Behavioral Patterns
      • Types of Animal Dormancy
    • What are Species?
      • Amphibians vs Reptiles
      • Animal Reproduction
      • Claws, Nails, and Talons
      • Frogs vs Toads
      • Fur and Hair
      • Gecko Feet
      • Invasive Species
      • IUCN Statuses
      • The Enigmatic Purr
      • Venom vs Poison
      • What is a Marsupial?
    • About the Critterman
  • Daily Critter Facts
    • Amphibian Facts
      • Frog Facts
      • Newt Facts
      • Salamander Facts
      • Toad Facts
    • Arthropod Facts
      • Arachnid Facts
      • Insect Facts
    • Bird Facts
      • Flightless Bird Facts
      • Predatory Bird Facts
      • Scavenger Bird Facts
    • Cryptozoology
    • Fish Facts
      • Cephalopod Facts
      • Crustacean Facts
      • Jellyfish Facts
      • Reefs
      • Shark and Ray Facts
      • Shellfish Facts
    • Flying Mammal Facts
    • Gastropod Facts
    • Land Mammal Facts
      • Canine Facts
      • Feline Facts
      • Lagomorph Facts
      • Marsupial Facts
      • Primate Facts
      • Rodent Facts
      • Ungulate Facts
    • Parasite Facts
    • Reptile Facts
      • Crocodilian Facts
      • Lizard Facts
      • Snake Facts
      • Turtle Facts
    • Sea Mammal Facts
      • Dolphin Facts
      • Porpoise Facts
      • Sea Lion Facts
      • Seal Facts
      • Whale Facts
    • Worm Facts
  • For Teachers
    • Animal Quizzes
      • Amphibians Quiz
      • Bird Quiz
      • Cat Quiz
      • Dolphin Quiz
      • Insect Quiz
      • Reptile Quiz
    • Butterfly Life Cycle
      • Butterfly Metamorphosis
      • World’s Largest Butterfly
      • World’s Largest Moth
    • Metamorphosis – A Frog’s Life Cycle
    • The Cellular Structure of an Animal
    • Insect vs Bug
    • Animal Word Search
    • Coloring Pages
  • Study Guides
    • African Animals
    • Antarctica Animals
    • Asian Animals
    • Australian Animals
    • Central American Animals
    • European Animals
    • North American Animals
    • South American Animals
  • Diseases & Parasites
    • Bsal
    • Canine Distemper Virus (CDV)
    • Chronic Wasting Disease (CWD)
    • The Deadly Chytrid Fungus
    • All About Parasites
    • The Rabies Virus
    • White-Nose Syndrome
  • Contact
    • General Contact
    • Guest Article Submission
      • Guest Articles
        • Guest Articles – 2024
    • What Critter is This?
    • Animal Welfare Organizations
    • Privacy Policy
Subscribe
  • Zoology
    • Ecology
      • Animal Conservation
        • CITES: Protecting Wildlife
        • Endangered Animals
        • Ex Situ Explained
        • In Situ Explained
      • Ecosystems
        • The Biomes
      • Evolution. The Facts.
        • Animal Devolution
        • Arachnids – What are They?
        • Evolution of Amphibians
        • Evolution of Birds
        • Fish and Sharks
        • Natural Selection
        • Primate Language: The Debate
        • What is a Marsupial?
      • Predator vs Prey
      • Producers and Consumers
    • Sustainability
      • Climate Change
      • Global Warming
      • Pollution
        • Air Pollution
        • Land Pollution
        • Microplastics Pollution
        • Water Pollution
      • Recycling
      • Renewable Energy
    • Animal Behavioral Patterns
      • Types of Animal Dormancy
    • What are Species?
      • Amphibians vs Reptiles
      • Animal Reproduction
      • Claws, Nails, and Talons
      • Frogs vs Toads
      • Fur and Hair
      • Gecko Feet
      • Invasive Species
      • IUCN Statuses
      • The Enigmatic Purr
      • Venom vs Poison
      • What is a Marsupial?
    • About the Critterman
  • Daily Critter Facts
    • Amphibian Facts
      • Frog Facts
      • Newt Facts
      • Salamander Facts
      • Toad Facts
    • Arthropod Facts
      • Arachnid Facts
      • Insect Facts
    • Bird Facts
      • Flightless Bird Facts
      • Predatory Bird Facts
      • Scavenger Bird Facts
    • Cryptozoology
    • Fish Facts
      • Cephalopod Facts
      • Crustacean Facts
      • Jellyfish Facts
      • Reefs
      • Shark and Ray Facts
      • Shellfish Facts
    • Flying Mammal Facts
    • Gastropod Facts
    • Land Mammal Facts
      • Canine Facts
      • Feline Facts
      • Lagomorph Facts
      • Marsupial Facts
      • Primate Facts
      • Rodent Facts
      • Ungulate Facts
    • Parasite Facts
    • Reptile Facts
      • Crocodilian Facts
      • Lizard Facts
      • Snake Facts
      • Turtle Facts
    • Sea Mammal Facts
      • Dolphin Facts
      • Porpoise Facts
      • Sea Lion Facts
      • Seal Facts
      • Whale Facts
    • Worm Facts
  • For Teachers
    • Animal Quizzes
      • Amphibians Quiz
      • Bird Quiz
      • Cat Quiz
      • Dolphin Quiz
      • Insect Quiz
      • Reptile Quiz
    • Butterfly Life Cycle
      • Butterfly Metamorphosis
      • World’s Largest Butterfly
      • World’s Largest Moth
    • Metamorphosis – A Frog’s Life Cycle
    • The Cellular Structure of an Animal
    • Insect vs Bug
    • Animal Word Search
    • Coloring Pages
  • Study Guides
    • African Animals
    • Antarctica Animals
    • Asian Animals
    • Australian Animals
    • Central American Animals
    • European Animals
    • North American Animals
    • South American Animals
  • Diseases & Parasites
    • Bsal
    • Canine Distemper Virus (CDV)
    • Chronic Wasting Disease (CWD)
    • The Deadly Chytrid Fungus
    • All About Parasites
    • The Rabies Virus
    • White-Nose Syndrome
  • Contact
    • General Contact
    • Guest Article Submission
      • Guest Articles
        • Guest Articles – 2024
    • What Critter is This?
    • Animal Welfare Organizations
    • Privacy Policy
yellowjacket

The Yellowjacket

  • 8 July, 2024
  • Critterman
  • No Comments
  • 84 Views
  • 1 Likes
Arthropod Facts, Daily Critter Facts, Insect Facts

The yellowjacket, aka yellow jacket, is a predatory but social wasp species native to the United States and Canada. They are often confused with paper wasps and hornets. These insects are typically identified by their tell-tale yellow and black (sometimes white and black) markings, their presence only in colonies, and a characteristic, quick, side-to-side flight pattern just before landing. Due in part to their abundant population these critters are not listed with the IUCN.

First the Stats…

Scientific name: Vespula vulgaris
Length: Up to .625 inch, queens are up to .78 inch
Lifespan: Up to 22 days, queens live up to 1 year

Now on to the Facts!

1.) All the females in a colony are capable of stinging repeatedly. Males are not capable of stinging though.

2.) Yellowjackets are considered important by farmers in controlling pest insects.

3.) These critters have lance-like stingers that possess small barbs, and usually sting repeatedly, when threatened.

4.) They have well-developed and powerful mandibles (jaws) meant for capturing and chewing insects.

5.) Not only do they have mandibles, but they also have a probosces for sucking fruit, nectar, and other juices.

But wait, there’s more on the yellowjacket!

6.) Nests are constructed of chewed wood pulp inside trees, shrubs, inside man-made structures, in holes in the soil, tree stumps, mouse burrows, and more.

7.) Hornets are their closest relative, but are differentiated by larger heads and eyes, plus hornets can be far more aggressive.

Did you know…?
The effects of a yellowjacket’s venom are redness, swelling, itching, hives, pain, wheezing, nausea, fainting, and vomiting. Anaphylaxis (shock) and even death may occur in rare cases concerning an allergic reaction to the venom. But death only occurs in very rare circumstances involving allergies and mass stinging events.

8.) Only inseminated queens overwinter. The rest of the hive dies when the temperatures drop too low.

9.) Queens emerge during late spring or early summer, find a nest site, and construct a small paper nest. Eggs are laid in the nest and are cared for by the queen until they pupate and develop into infertile workers.

10.) By midsummer, the first of the adult workers are ready to take on the tasks of nest growth, looking for food, care of the queen & larvae, and defending the colony.

But wait, there’s still more on the yellowjacket!

11.) Until autumn, when she dies, the queen stays inside the nest laying eggs.

12.) The nest expands rapidly to around 5,000 workers and a nest size of up to 15,000 cells by late summer.

Did you know…?
In a form of trophallaxis (the transfer of food or fluids to other members of a community) the larvae excrete a sugary substance called honeydew for the workers to consume.

13.) Southern colonies tend to be much larger than northern ones and house dozens of queens, over 10,000 workers, and over 100,000 cells!

14.) After leaving the hive to mate, males soon die, while fertilized queens look for protected places to overwinter.

15.) As soon as the males and newly produced queens leave the nest, the parent colony workers begin to die, usually leaving the nest to wither. The founding queen also perishes at this time.

But wait, there’s still a little more on the yellowjacket!

16.) Adults feed on sugars and carbohydrates, like flower nectar, fruits, and tree sap. The larvae feed on proteins obtained from insects, meats, and even fish.

17.) Most of the insects collected by workers for the larvae are considered to be agricultural pests.

18.) By late summer, larvae are producing less for workers to eat. The foraging workers look for sources of sugar outside the nest such as ripe fruits and human garbage.

Now a Short Yellowjacket Video!

Be sure to share & comment below! Also, check out the Critter Science YouTube channel. Videos added regularly!

Want to suggest a critter for me to write about? Let me know here.

Some source material acquired from: Wikipedia & IUCN

CanadahornetinsectinsectsstingstingerstingingUnited Statesvenomvenomouswaspyellow jacketyellowjacket
Critterman

With over 50 years of critter experience to my credit and hundreds of zoology teaching hours to people around the world, I have amassed not only a continuing thirst for critter knowledge but a desire to teach others all I can about the majesty and wonder of our natural world. Critter Science is a culmination of such knowledge. I have hands on as well as book acquired intel on all kinds of critters. Whether they're on land, sea, or in the air. I will never say that I know everything about all animals. That's impossible, even for a savant. But, that being said, ask me any animal question and I'll answer it. If I don't know the answer, I'll get an answer for you!

The Indian Gray Mongoose
The Summer Tanager
Related Posts
  • Nepal house martin
    The Nepal House Martin 4 July, 2025
  • booted eagle
    The Booted Eagle 3 July, 2025
  • Wyoming toad
    The Wyoming Toad 2 July, 2025
  • Daily Critter Facts
  • Guest Articles
  • BYET
  • Teachers
  • Study Guides
  • Contact

Copyright © 2025, Critter Science. All Rights Reserved.