Posts Tagged: nest

The Amazing Bee-Parasite Research of Leslie Saul-Gershenz

Evolutionary ecologist Leslie Saul-Gershenz goes places where many have been but few have ever really seen.  Bees and blister beetles, yes. We remember writing about her work in April of 2013 when she addressed the Nor Cal Entomology Society (now...

Leslie Saul-Gershenz in the Channel Island National Park conducting a native bee survey.

Leslie Saul-Gershenz in the Channel Island National Park conducting a native bee survey.

Leslie Saul-Gershenz doing field work on bee nesting beds of the solitary bee, Nomia melanderi, in Walla Walla, Wash. (2010-2015).

Leslie Saul-Gershenz doing field work on bee nesting beds of the solitary bee, Nomia melanderi, in Walla Walla, Wash. (2010-2015).

A digger bee, Habropoda pallida, with blister beetle larvae. (Photo by Leslie Saul-Gershenz)

A digger bee, Habropoda pallida, with blister beetle larvae. (Photo by Leslie Saul-Gershenz)

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 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)

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)

This is a European paper wasp nest tucked inside a shrub. Yellowjacket nests are often in abandoned rodent nests. (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)

Hunting for Prey

Be careful when you're harvesting an artichoke.You might find a European paper wasp (Polistes dominula) hunting for a little protein, such as ants, flies and tiny bees to carry back to its nest.Entomologist Whitney Cranshaw of Colorado State University...

European paper wasp hunting for prey on an artichoke. (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)

uropean paper wasp hunting for prey on an artichoke. (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)

European paper wasps guarding a nest. (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)

European paper wasps guarding a nest. (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)

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