Tea party photo op

A yellow jacket queen dropped in to visit a couple of days ago. I fed her a few drops of sugar water "tea" and she stayed to drink it while I took her photo.

"Hi!"

She's a Western Yellowjacket, Vespula pensylvanica. These are one of the only two species of yellowjacket that have the main eyes completely circled by yellow. (See BugGuide's species key.) Those little bright dots on the top of her head are also eyes; three of them. They mostly distinguish light from shadow. The other eyes do most of the work. Yellow jackets have excellent vision.

Females have 6 abdominal segments; males have 6. Females have 12 antennae segments: males have 13. But the males are smaller than the queen.

Like a cat, she washes her face after the meal.

The thing about taking photos from an inch away is that only certain bits end up in focus. Here, a couple of appendages showed up; I don't know what they are.

"Gotta go now. Thanks for the tea!"

I trapped her with a glass and carried her outside. I don't want her making a nest in my windowsill flowerpots.

Serendipity

I had taken a wrong turn and was tangled in streets that curved away from where I wanted to be, and then dead-ended, when I passed a small sign at an opening into a brushy, weedy, dark ravine. "Al Cleaver Park," the sign said. It didn't look park-like, nor inviting, but I was fed up with driving in circles. I parked and went in.

Well. An old trail led along the edge of the ravine, down a hill, past weeds and trash, and ended up underneath the road I had been looking for. And there, where I never would have seen it in years of hurrying home, was a bright crop of Queen Anne's lace, dancing in the breeze.

With bugs, to boot.

Flower head, opening up. With soldier beetle.

Common aerial yellowjacket, Dolichovespula arenaria, I think.

Harmless Syrphid fly, pretending to be a big, bad yellowjacket.

Pair of soldier beetles doing what soldier beetles do.

"Hi, friends! Mind if I join you?"

The busy pair ignored him, and he wandered off alone.

I took too many photos, and I still haven't sorted them. I've still got a bunch of critters from the Serpentine Fens, etc. And I'm due a visit to the beach to collect hermit treats. I'll catch up one of these days!

Contributing to the delinquency of yellow jackets

Every time I've opened a door or window, these last few days, a yellow-jacket races in. I get the handy fly swatter, and shoo him out.  Next thing I know, he's back inside again.

I think it's the same one, every time, because ...

Sugar!

The first time he came in, I found him half-drowned in the aquarium, and put him on a paper towel to dry off. To keep him occupied, I gave him a generous pinch of sugar. On second thoughts, I added a blackberry drupelet, leaking juice. Healthier, more "natural", instead of empty calories; he would like that, I thought.

No, he said, the sugar is fine. He ate and ate, turning this way and that, not wanting to miss any. Several times, he walked over the blackberry seed, ignoring it, hurrying to get to the sugar beyond.

I put a glass over him and carried him outside.  He flew a few feet away when I took the glass off, then returned to the sugary paper towel. I left him to it.

Now he's addicted.

More! More! More!

Yellow jacket. Well, a yellow-striped black body suit, anyhow.

Every time, almost, that I look at the bird bath these days, it has a wasp at the edge, getting a drink. Most are yellow-striped, like this one.

Either Dolichovespula arenaria, or Vespula pensylvanica. A yellowjacket, anyhow. Not on my birdbath; that's a blackberry blossom.

But yesterday, I noticed an almost black wasp, with a touch of blue striping. And then there are the orange ones that speed away as soon as I come near. And the little sand wasps that stung me last year. And the tiny ones that look like yellow fruit flies. And the black ones with a red belly.

All those live within a few feet of my door. And probably more that I haven't noticed yet.

Skunks and raccoons by night; wasps and chickadees and house finches by day. That's a busy birdbath. I'll have to start stalking it with the camera. (The bird cam doesn't notice cold-blooded insects; not in its contract, it claims. Lazy watchdog!)

Yellow jacket

... on the linden tree in the yard.

Western yellow jacket, Vespula pennsylvanica

I spent half an hour under the tree in the afternoon, chasing critters. I got bitten by small black flies, spider-webbed, tickled. I had ants in my shoes and down my neck, a wasp in my hair. But at least I didn't get stung this time.

The rest of the story, tomorrow.

Dusty yellow jacket

When I opened my window on a sunny morning, I found a yellow jacket jammed into the track, dead. How she got in there, I can't imagine. Maybe she was trying to make a hole to build a nest, but the metal window and track are unchewable and she couldn't turn around in the small space.

Bent double, to fit in the narrow groove. And now stuck in that position, and loaded with dust.

The abdomen is strongly marked. Each species of yellow jacket has a slightly different pattern, which also varies according to its station in life; the queen, the worker, or the drone. I think this one is probably Vespula alascensis, but not the queen.

 I soaked her in a mix of half alcohol, half hand sanitizer overnight to soften her up, and straighten her out. It didn't work very well, but at least she got clean:

Slightly surprised, clean face, wet-look hairdo.

Life's too short to dawdle

I went over to the vacant lot today, to see if the ant pupae I found last month were hatching yet. Not quite, but it should be any day now, so I'll check often from now on.

On the way back, I discovered treasure; a temporary pond swarming with ephemeral life. I'll post photos and info tomorrow.

And, while I stood at the edge of the pond, a yellow jacket dropped in to get a drink:

One quick sip, and he was on his way. Busy, busy.

I caught this hover fly in the air as he zipped by. His wings are those pale blurs on either side. Hurry, hurry!

And the four-spotted skimmer was much in evidence, speeding past me every few minutes, never close enough, never pausing even for a second, so I could get a photo. Rush, Rush! Time's a wasting!

Narcissus

This one, not this one.I had a visit this morning from a pair of yellow-jackets. They were at my back door, trying to get out, but of course I had to photograph them first. Here is one, looking at his reflection in the double glass of the door.

These are the same (Vespula pensylvanica?) as the ones we saw at the Buddhist temple in Richmond a week ago. And there were a few at Gunderson Slough, as well. One was chewing away at an old piling; he paid us no mind, even though both Laurie and I held cameras only a few inches away. He must have been collecting woodpulp to make his paper nest.
Other varieties of yellow jacket, and the related bald-faced hornet, nest in trees or in the ground. V. pensylvanica will also use human habitations. I have often seen them, in great numbers, entering and leaving a building via a tiny crack in the siding or roof overhang.

Right now, they are peaceful enough, just interested in food and building materials. Later in the summer, once their numbers increase, they can get quite agressive and will sting repeatedly. One stung my grandson when he was only 6 months old; how the poor baby howled! But a bit of baking soda and water paste stopped the swelling, and a bottle and a good cuddle tided him over the rest. By the time his mother got home, he was fine. Unless you are allergic to them, the sting produces only a temporary reaction.

However, I'll be keeping a watch out for them here, and stop up any cracks I find them using. I am tolerant of so-called "pests", but there's a limit.