nacceptable and possibly dangerous!
The most common social wasp found in the Western United States is the western yellow jacket. This species typically nests underground, but occasionally is found in wall voids and other protected locations. As with other members of this group these insects are predatory in nature but when their natural food is scarce they are attracted to any type of meat or sweets. Certain years these insects become extremely common and are major pests around campgrounds, restaurants and even backyards. One major factor relating to larger numbers during certain years is previous mild winters. Under these conditions the nests may not totally die out during the winter months.
An official from Catalina Island recently contacted me. The yellow jackets had become a major concern over the entire several-mile long island. In Avalon when customers ordered a hamburger and a coke at one of the restaurants it was a matter of whom or what got to the food first. One year on 3 separate occasions children had to Medi-vaced by helicopter out of the Boy Scout camps due to massive number of stings from these wasps.
Students frequently ask me what is the worst sting-bite that I personally have experienced. I have been stung by many scorpions, many species of ants, exotic caterpillars and hundreds of bees at one time and bitten by large beetles, giant waterbugs, assassin bugs, various tarantulas and black widows but the worst encounter was by a colony of yellow jackets. The sting of a yellow jacket or hornet is considerably worse than that of a honeybee. I was once called to remove a honeybee nest from a property. When I got there it was a yellow jacket nest in the ground. Even though, I was only prepared for honeybees (a veil and hat) I decided to continue. After about 15 stings (over a period of 20 minutes) I decided to retreat and get some better protective clothing. By the time I got back to my vehicle most of my body had turned bright red with hives and large red welts. Besides the initial pain I itched for s