Hobbies And Interests
Things You'll Need
Instructions
Look for characteristic yellow and black bands around the abdomen and thorax of a small (1/2- to 3/4-inch-long) wasp. If your wasp has these distinctive markings, it's likely to be a yellow jacket, one of the most common types of wasp. If the wasp is trying to crawl into your soda can, that's even more evidence. Yellow jackets are attracted to sugary foods and can be a real problem at picnics.
Examine a brown wasp for orange stripes. This might be a European hornet. They are slightly larger than a yellow jacket, about an inch and a half long. These wasps will not attempt to eat your food, instead feeding almost exclusively on insects. But they can still sting you.
Check out the nest of a small (3/4-inch) black and white wasp. It might be a bald-faced hornet. These build nests about a foot in diameter made of individual cells surrounded by an envelope of chewed wood pulp.
Take a closer look at the wasp nest. If it is not surrounded by an envelope and the individual cells are visible, then it does not belong to a hive of bald-faced hornets, and it is probably the home of a group of paper wasps, also known as umbrella wasps because their nests tend to take the shape of umbrellas.
Keep an eye open for a wasp with a very thin "waist" (called a petiole, this is the section between the thorax and abdomen of an insect). It looks almost as if the wasp is wearing a very tight corset. This is the most recognizable feature of the mud dauber. Unlike the other species described above, mud daubers are solitary wasps. Their nests are smaller, constructed of mud and built by individual female wasps, usually underneath an overhanging structure. While rarely aggressive, they might choose the eave overhanging your garage to build their nest, and then you'll have a problem. They won't go after your food, but they might go after you if you try to evict them.