Eastern Yellowjacket (Vespula maculifrons) Nest

The nest cavity, from a distance 

The nest cavity, a little closer 

Dispatching the remaining wasps 

The nest cavity was about the size of a basketball 

A closer view with remnants of the nest wall 

Even closer...

Still a few wasps about 

Close-up of an Eastern Yellowjacket drinking from the pool.

August 4th, 2014.  

Eastern Yellowjacket (Vespula maculifrons) Nest 

Walton County, GA

Several years ago, W dug a pool near the creek to provide a breeding pool for frogs, particularly Upland Chorus frogs (Pseudacris feriarum). He’s been expanding it recently while the weather is dry. 

 

While digging, he sliced horizontally through a subterranean wasp nest, releasing a swarm of rather angry wasps that proceeded to sting him. He beat a hasty retreat – as fast as you can on a tractor - but not before receiving at least 30+ stings, mostly on his arms although he received a couple on his neck and eyelid. This prompted a visit to the local hardware store to procure several spray cans of wasp killer and subsequent cautious visits to the nest to kill off most of the remaining wasps.

Then we were able to take a closer look at the nest. It was about the size of a basket ball. Remnants of the nest itself remained in the cavity. Bodies of wasps littered the bottom of the cavity and a few confused wasps wandered about. We identified the nest as belonging to Easter Yellowjackets (Vespula maculifrons) although we found the body of on Bald-faced Hornet (Dolichovespula maculata) in the cavity as well.

 

I love the follwing desciption of the yellowjacket nests in a post entitled ‘Bees, Wasps and Hornets (Oh, My!)’ on the Clover Creek Nursery website:

… ‘The Hornets build nests that hang down from the branch of a tree or shrub, or under the eaves of your house. Yellow jackets make a similar type of nest, but usually it is in the ground or other enclosed space. In either case, the color of the nest is gray or brown with the appearance of an ugly formless papier-mâché.’

http://getplants4less.com/blog/2012/09/11/bees-wasps-and-hornets/

The Sap Tree

I don’t even know what kind of tree it was. But as I made my way from the parking lot down to the lake shore (segment 12) I noticed that a number of insects and butterflies gathered at the base of the tree. Only this tree among all the others along the bank.

There was a large black area at the base of the tree.

A closer view.

At first I thought a mushroom had ‘decomposed’ to leave a black patch which has been common in the woods this Fall. However, the tree appeared to be oozing sap and quite a diverse variety of creatures were puddling. A Red Admiral (Vanessa atalanta) and an Eastern Comma (Polygonia comma) stopped by for a few seconds but didn’t settle.

A Gemmed Satyr (Cyllopsis gemma)

Sharing the same space with an ant

At first I thought it was a cicada skeleton but a close look revealed it was a beetle. I don’t know what it is. I don’t know if it was alive or not. It looks like it’s cemented in. And it was sharing space with an Eastern Yellowjacket.

The Eastern Yellowjacket (Vespula maculifrons) was dwarfed by a European Hornet (Vespa crabro).

And a closer view of the European Hornet. I’d seen a few of these along the trail over the last few weeks but they were twitchy and flew away as I approached. This one was posing.

I usually go down to the lakeshore by a different route. I’m not sure why I went this way on this day but this was a serendipitous find.

Postscripts:
I checked the tree a week later
1. It's an oak.
2. The sap had stopped oozing.
3. The beetle had disappeared so I guess it was alive and not permanently 'glued' into the crevice.
Click on an image to view a larger image

Identification resources:
- Butterflies and Moths of North America: Gemmed Satyr (Cyllopsis gemma)
- BugGuide: Eastern Yellowjacket (Vespula maculifrons)
- BugGuide: European Hornet (Vespa crabro)