Eastern Yellow Jackets

Display your photos or the photos of others here. This is also where you'll find the Monthly Photo Challenge.

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Mikell
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I haven't found anything for the monthly challenge...Symmetry should be easy...I'll keep trying to get something.
But I have been busy shooting.

Thanks to my telephoto lens, I was able to get some pretty good shots of the Eastern Yellow Jackets that have built a nest beside our bayside deck on Sodus Bay, in the rotting wooden timbers of a rock crib. Alan stirred them up a bit but once they settled back to their routine of going in and out through two holes made by old iron spikes, I snuck up and took these photos from a distance. They will not be there next weekend; Alan has a plan. :)

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Last edited by Mikell on Wed Aug 08, 2012 9:51 am, edited 1 time in total.
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Brenda
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Be careful! Those guys can be pretty nasty!
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Mikell
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I will be hiding in our cabin next weekend when Alan takes action. ...but I'll pass your advice on to him. ;)
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I know that I'm probably preaching to the choir, ;) but first thing in the morning or late evening are the best times to muck with them as they're less active when it's cooler. Not many things scare me, but those guys sure do!
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Mikell
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I'm passing some info on to Alan...googled the things...and it seems you definitely need to do it at night or early morning...and with these underground nests...you need to stick the spray foam stuff into the holes ...can't spray from a distance. I will make Alan get covered from head to toe....and hope for the best.
they are very nasty...
but...
they are also among the most beneficial insects for other reasons...
so...I'm just sorry they chose a spot close to where we play each weekend...and lots of little kids running around here...can't take chances.
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Cool shots. I hope you had a nice zoom on that macro because these guys don't like folks near their nest.
I had a eastern yellow jacket nest in the ground near my driveway last year. I showed the family where it was at and we were content to avoid the area as it was getting late in the season and I didn't want to pay for removal.
Well one day I came home from work and there were thousands of dead yellow jackets strewn about my driveway and lawn. I had no idea what happened. As a made my way through the front door I saw an invoice from my propane supplier and realized that I had just received a propane delivery so a thought occured to me.
I called the propane company and told the receptionist about my dead bees and she giggled and said sometimes the drivers will use the propane on a ground nest like I had, even though they are not supposed to.
I was definitely glad to be rid of the yellow jackets but I did read about a couple of instances where propane guys set themselves on fire and died doing the same exact thing.
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Mikell
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The nest is right adjacent to our waterside deck. I just sat on the deck and used a 55-250mm lens ...so I was pretty close but they didn't take any notice...they were fairly preoccupied with their work.

Last summer Alan was mowing our lawn at home and got stung 13 times by a bunch of these guys (actually gals...only the females have stingers!!!) ...they had made a nest through a hole in the ground...right under our lawn too. He learned very quickly how to exterminate them. He'll get rid of the ones at the lake.

That's pretty interesting about your propane guys...and wild that some have set themselves on fire doing this...I'll make sure Alan doesn't use combustibles. ;)
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Matt
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Those are excellent. The depth of field is perfect too!
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