Yellow Jackets are social hunter wasps.They are commonly found buzzing around from early summer to late summer. Scientists have figured that these fascinating creatures perform a crucial role in our ecosystem!Yellowjackets are usually seen in abundance when the weather is warm, like in the summer season. They can be dangerous if you are not careful around them. So keep a watch out if you see a sudden swarm of bees hanging around in your backyard. They mostly live underground in holes that might have been burrowed by rodents. So be careful around them and don’t just swat them away. Yellowjackets have a smooth stinger. That means it can sting us multiple times without the stingers breaking off. And this wasp sting can prove to be dangerous. However, this wasp colony can also be of help to our environment in some ways. You should be aware of the benefits and hazards of these wasps if you encounter them.Holistically, wasps and bees form such an essential part of an ecosystem. If you like reading and learning about how to identify different wasps and what their importance in our nature is, be sure to check out more articles such as paper wasp vs. yellow jacket and bee vs. yellow jacket!Do yellow jackets transfer pollen?A yellow jacket is a social wasp. They are very beneficial to our society and are commonly found flying around human life. Hence, it might be helpful to keep an eye on this tiny creature! They might build nests in the garden before the weather gets too cold. They will be active and lively during the warm summer. You can find them roaming out of their nests. While they carry on their activities, they also transfer pollen from one flower to another. They are one of the most important predators of pests too. Hence in a way, they are also helpful for our society.Yellowjackets do transfer pollen. In fact, yellow jackets are one of the most beneficial insects found in the wild, almost as much as bees. They can be called pollinators. They live in bushes or green areas in colonies. The females are sterile and can sting humans if we pester them too much. So beware! They love to drink sweet drinks and can be seen to be attracted towards soda cans if yellow jackets are sitting alone for too long. And once the wasp finds good food, it will always remember to come back to that place.Similarly, to drink sweet nectar from various flowers, these yellow jackets hop on from flower to flower. And in this process, they also carry pollen from one flower to another. Therefore helping in the pollination of plants and trees. This is the reason they are being considered increasingly to keep our ecosystem cycle stable and well.Pollinating Insect-BiologyThe worker wasp in the yellow jacket is a bit longer than the female worker wasp. The queen wasp in the nest (colony) of the wasps is more tolerant of cold temperatures than any other wasp in that colony. She delicately makes the nest by chewing on wood. This yellow jacket nest has almost a paper-like consistency. After that, the queen lays a small number of eggs in this nest. And these eggs, which hatch into larvae, are the first of the workers that are produced. This nest is cared for by all the wasps, which are workers.Bees usually have a stinger. In the case of yellow jackets, their stingers have tiny barbs, unlike in bumblebees. This insect can be easily aggravated. And when they are disturbed can sting you repeatedly. Too many stings can be very harmful to our body as our bodies can produce a severe allergic reaction. This insect feeds on other insects, caterpillars, and sweet substances that they find anywhere. One of the ways it gets sweet is through nectar which is also a way through which the insect helps in pollinating.How do bees pollinate?Bees play a very important role in pollination. Hence it is essential that we value them and let them work their wonder in nature. Almost the food we eat today is a result of pollen transfer carried out by pollinators like the honey bees, bumblebees, and hornets.Bees feed their babies pollen, which is a good source of protein for their offspring. When they land on any flower species, the pollen in the flowers gets attracted to the leg hair of the bee. Since bees usually concentrate on one species of flower at a time, there is a very good chance of pollen taken from one flower getting deposited on another. In exchange for pollen transfer, pollinators bees like bumblebees or honeybees are rewarded with delicious nectar from that specific flower species or tree sap.Distinguishing Yellow Jackets From Other Summer FlyersYellow jackets are social bees and pollinators. They have yellow stripes on their black body. The queen wasp is about 9 mm (0.75 in) long. A wasp community also includes workers and drones. Like honey bee stings, yellow jacket stings as well. These insects love drinking from flowers and other sweet drinks and eat pest insects too! All of these things they do are similar to honey bees, and hence these yellow jackets are commonly misidentified as other bees such as honey bees or other types of wasps such as hornets or paper wasps, or even bumblebees. So let’s find out how to distinguish between them!Yellow jacket wasps possess some distinctive features using which you can identify them. They have long elongated wings. These insects have a small waist, and their whole body is segmented. They do not have any hair. When they are resting, these elongated wings close laterally against their body. Their heads are a combination of yellow and black. Their body is yellow with distinctive black patterns all across them. They can be distinguished from paper wasps as yellow jackets have shorter and thicker bodies. They also have long antlers. Unlike bees, they do not have long, dangling hind legs. In bees, these hind legs are used to carry pollen. Paper wasps are not very aggressive unless someone disturbs their nests or peace. In contrast, yellow jackets are very aggressive, especially during the summer season when the yellow jacket nests are full of worker wasps. These insects have a very fast flying speed and keep their legs tucked against their body. Keeping these characteristics in mind, you can easily identify them from other types of flyers!Role Of The Yellow Jacket In The EcosystemThese social wasps, which look like social bees, live together in a colony much like European honey bees. They are made up of wasps which have a different distinctive role in the colony. They have a main queen wasp just like a queen bee in the colony of honey bees, worker waps similar to worker bees among honey bees, and drones. They have a very impactful role in the ecosystem. Hence we need to protect them.This insect that has a mighty sting helps the ecosystem in two main ways. The first one is by pollinating. It is said that out of every three bites we take, one bite is because the bees, like honeybees, transfer pollen and increase plant growth in our ecosystem. Similarly, these yellow jacket wasps also play an important role in pollination. Secondly, they are also pest eaters. Hence they eat pests that might have infested our important crops!Here at Kidadl, we have carefully created lots of interesting family-friendly facts for everyone to enjoy! If you liked our suggestions for do yellow jackets pollinate, then why not take a look at hornet vs. yellow jacket or yellow jacket facts!
Yellow Jackets are social hunter wasps.
