Could be a wasp...

[Ken Ramos]

...and probably is. Though it is much to large to be a Yellow Jacket or so it seems, it just could be some kind of wasp, I know very little about such things. Back when I was growing up in East Tennessee, I recall my grandmother always referring to these as "news bees." They seldom stay still long enough for one to photograph and they have a very loud hum to them. This one was quite wet, seeing as how it has rained all night, and is probably the reason for it holding in one place, probably waiting for or attempting to get its wings dry.






EOS 30D
1/250 sec. @ f/9 ISO 400
Canon EF 100mm f/2.8 macro
Canon 430EX Speedlite (-1/3)
Morning

[beetleman]

Excellent photos Ken. Because of its large size..and the time of the year, this could be a queen Yellow jacket looking for a home. I notice in the spring you will see super large Bumblebees also scouting the ground and buildings looking for a home site. As I remember reading, the queens are the only ones to overwinter from last years nests...all the worker wasps die and the queen builds a new nest in a different location.

[Ken Ramos]

You know that idea had crossed my mind Doug, as to this possibly being a queen. It is still much to early for things such as Yellow Jackets, I think, though I could be wrong. This one was resting on the branch of one of the pine trees growing in behind the house/apartment. Thanks Doug

[beetleman]

Ken, here is a little info I found on this site; http://hgic.clemson.edu/factsheets/HGIC2510.htm

LIFE CYCLE
Yellow jackets are social insects that have a colony division of labor between undeveloped female workers, males and fully developed female queens. Newly mated queens are the only members of the colony that overwinter (survive the winter). In South Carolina, the yellow jacket colony’s life begins in April or May when the overwintered queen emerges and begins the establishment of a nest which is normally located in a soil cavity such as an abandoned mouse nest or hollow tree. Other possible nest sites are in buildings, including attics, porches, eaves or sheds.

The queen builds a small paper nest and lays several eggs which hatch and mature to adult workers. This first generation of infertile workers undertakes all tasks of nest expansion including foraging for food, defending the colony entrance and feeding the queen and larvae (immature forms). The colony rapidly increases in size and the number of adult yellow jackets may reach several hundred by August.

Nests are constructed of several layers of comb made of tiny bits of wood fiber chewed into paper-like pulp. During this peak population period, the colony produces reproductive cells that mature and provide future queens and reproductive males that eventually leave the nest for mating flights. Mated queens fall to the ground and seek out a protected overwintering place such as a brush pile, a hollow tree or a building. Males that have successfully mated quickly die.

The parent colony begins to dwindle rapidly in fall and the foundress queen and all workers die with the onset of cold temperatures. A new colony cycle begins the next spring. During the fall of the year when colonies begin to die, skunks and bears dig into the underground nests and feed on the immature yellow jackets. Above-ground nests will persist in dry areas, but they are rarely used again the next spring. A huge southern yellow jacket colony was discovered in Charleston County in

August 1991 that contained an estimated 250,000 yellow jackets. The nest was thought to have been re-inhabited for more than one year.

[Bruce Williams]

Pic2 is a cracker Ken. Nice composition, good detail and good colour ...and no doubt you repaid this service by not squishing it but instead giving it international fame and er...fortune

Bruce

[Ken Ramos]

Doug: Some interesting information that you have provided along with the link. I once, while on a wilderness hike, came across where some animal had dug into a yellow jackets nest, once deep in the ground, and had exposed the constructed nest. It was one of those views that make your skin sort of crawl and itch from viewing the intense activity of the ennumeorus amount of insects, as they intensely were trying to repair the damage to the nest. Of course I had handy a small pair of travel binoculars (8 X 25 Pentax) which made it easy to observe all that activity from a safe distance.

Bruce:

Well I don't know about any fortune there Bruce but no I did no harm to the wasp and left it alone as it rested on the brance of the pine tree. I returned somewhat later to see if it was still there and might possibly be doing something a bit different, which I have found out in the past to sometimes be the case, with some insects, but it had flown away.

Thanks guys

[Gordon C. Snelling]

You got yourself one fine queen Yellow Jacket there, they are always so photogenic, well when you can get them to sit still.

[Ken Ramos]

Gordon wrote:

You got yourself one fine queen Yellow Jacket there, they are always so photogenic, well when you can get them to sit still.

Well I sincerly hope that Her Majesties domain will not be anywheres near where I will be mowing grass this coming fall

Thanks Gordon