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Posts Tagged: Vespula pensylvanica
Make Way for the Weird and Wonderful Wasps
Meet the "meat bees." Yellowjackets, commonly known as "meat bees," in comparison to the "vegetarian" honey bees, will be among the wasps featured at the Bohart Museum of Entomology's open house from 1 to 4 p.m., Sunday, Sept. 25 in Room...
A honey bee, Apis mellifera, and a Western yellowjacket,Vespula pensylvanica, sharing a rose. (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)
Aren't You Supposed to Be Hibernating?
Dec. 22 marked the winter solstice, the first day of winter. But don't tell that to the western yellowjacket, Vespula pensylvanica. It's supposed to be hibernating, not flying. But there it is flying around--and sipping nectar--from flowering Algerian...
A western yellowjacket, Vespula pensylvanica, flies toward Algerian ivy in mid-December in Vacaville, Calif. (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)
A western yellowjacket, Vespula pensylvanica, sipping nectar from Algerian ivy in Vacaville, Calif. in mid-December. (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)
Yellowjacket or Paper Wasp?
Western yellowjackets, nicknamed "meat bees" (as opposed to the "vegetarian honey bees") are often misidentified. A recent visitor at a camp in the Sierra Nevada mountain range witnessed a large number of wasps and stinging behavior. They crowded...
A Western yellowjacket, Vespula pensylvanica, sipping water. Note the black antennae. (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)
A European paper wasp, Polistes dominula, soaking up sun. Note the orange antennae.(Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)
This is a European paper wasp nest tucked inside a shrub. Yellowjacket nests are often in abandoned rodent nests. (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)
Quit Mimicking Me!
Last weekend a little critter made its first-ever appearance in our family bee garden. It was neither a grand entrance nor a grand insect. "A fly!" I thought, as I looked at its knoblike bristle or arista on the end of each antenna....
This wasp mimic is actually a fly, genus Ceriana. (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)
Davis photographer Allan Jones captured this fantastic image of the wasp mimic, Ceriana. (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)
This is a Western yellowjacket, Vespula pensylvanic, which looks a lot like the wasp mimic, genus Ceriana. (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)
This is a European paper wasp, Polistes dominula. A syrphid fly mimics this. (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)
What to Do About Yellowjackets
The question begged for an answer. "It's yellowjacket time again. Does anyone have or recommend a good trap?" A Bay Area beekeeper today sought recommendations from ledEric Mussen, Extension apiculturist with the UC Davis Department of Entomology...
A yellowjacket entering its nest at an apiary. (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)
A yellowjacket sipping water at an apiary. (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)
