Class: Insecta

Order: Hymenoptera

Family: Vespidae (Paper Wasps, Yellow Jackets, Hornets etc:)

This group of insects is familiar to us all, the wasps. Not only does the ‘BUZZ’ Sound of the wings evoke the primal insect of “fight or fight;” but a brightly colored insect like this wasp is ingrained in our brains as well, a warning to respect them, or risk the consequences. No, doubt a hard lesson of “learn instincts” as a child and definitely carried through our adulthood.

The Wasp below shown feasting on a One-Sided Penstemon, the local fast-food joint and home builders store is had at work and seemingly oblivious to my “flash fill” and several shots.

In North America, there are around 325 species. There are solitary species of wasps as well as social species in which there is a division of labor between queens, workers and males. Most species provision their larvae with insects or other animals. Social Vespidae construct nests from chewed pulp consisting of flowers, wood, vegetation or mud. In temperate regions, the nests are seasonal with only the queen over wintering.