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Showing posts from August, 2007

Why are some yellowjacket wasp nests dangerous?

Yellowjacket wasps are social insects that live in large, highly organized colonies (left). Yellowjacket wasps construct nests made of papery material that are either suspended above ground ( aerial nests , left) or buried below ground level ( ground nests ). Another social wasp, the paper wasp , builds smaller, less threatening nests. Yellowjacket wasp nests may harbor thousands of individual worker wasps by late summer and early fall at the peak of activity. Life cycle of a wasp nest Nest construction begins in the spring when an inseminated queen emerges from winter hibernation. Nests start small but grow rapidly as new workers (sterile female daughters of the queen) are reared. Nests reach maximum size by late summer and early fall. As winter approaches new queens and a few male drones are produced. After these reproductives mate the males die and the newly-mated queens leave the nest. All of the current-year workers abandon the nest and die by the time cold weather sett