Sandhills Hornet, a.k.a. Yellow Jacket

By Bruce G. Marcot, Ecology Picture of the Week:

Here is one of the most abundant wasps in the Pacific Northwest, U.S.:  a sandhills hornet, more commonly known as a yellow jacket.  

It is the female that builds their paperlike nests made of saliva and wood pulp, that hang under the eaves of your house or within shubs or trees.

To create the pulp for the nest, sandhills hornets chew on wood or bark, which might include your outdoor furniture, fencing, or trees.  

This one was placid enough, getting a cool drink from a tiny wetland, and tolerant of my photography.  But don't disturb their nest.  As a nesting colony, they will defend their space and sting multiple times unlike honey bees which sting only once.  I know this from experience, having accidentally disturbed several nests in the local forests and then running for cover.  

--Bruce G. Marcot

Image and text © Bruce G.  Marcot, Ph.D. Research Wildlife Ecologist,
who produces the Ecology Picture of the Week website.