sankax
Eastern Yellow Jacket Queen (Vespula maculifrons)
I found this Queen Eastern Yellow Jacket (Vespula maculifrons) today on the lakeshore.
New colonies of the Eastern Yellow Jacket are founded in the spring by a single fertilized queen. The queen begins her task of laying eggs by first building a small nest and then laying eggs, which will give rise to the first generation of sterile female workers. The queen will continue to lay worker eggs until about halfway through the season. At this point the queen will lay fertilized female eggs (which will be next season's queens) and unfertilized eggs (which develop into males).
The nest is constructed from rotten or weathered wood fibers, dead plant stem fibers, the linings of shrubs and trees, cocoon silk and various artificial fibrous materials such as paper bags and newpapers. These fibers are then mixed with saliva and chewed to a pulp. Once the pulp has been made the workers begin to build larger and larger cells. Typically, the combs are built for the second tier before the first tier has been completed.
Adult yellow jackets feed only on nectar and fruit juices using their long tongues, while animal tissues (mostly insects and other arthropods, but occasionally carrion) are fed to larvae. Larvae jiggle around in their cells alerting nearby workers that they are hungry. A worker will then proceed to go out and capture a prey item.
Sigma 105mm f/2.8 EX DG Macro mounted on a Canon XTi. Very sharp, take a look close up.
Eastern Yellow Jacket Queen (Vespula maculifrons)
I found this Queen Eastern Yellow Jacket (Vespula maculifrons) today on the lakeshore.
New colonies of the Eastern Yellow Jacket are founded in the spring by a single fertilized queen. The queen begins her task of laying eggs by first building a small nest and then laying eggs, which will give rise to the first generation of sterile female workers. The queen will continue to lay worker eggs until about halfway through the season. At this point the queen will lay fertilized female eggs (which will be next season's queens) and unfertilized eggs (which develop into males).
The nest is constructed from rotten or weathered wood fibers, dead plant stem fibers, the linings of shrubs and trees, cocoon silk and various artificial fibrous materials such as paper bags and newpapers. These fibers are then mixed with saliva and chewed to a pulp. Once the pulp has been made the workers begin to build larger and larger cells. Typically, the combs are built for the second tier before the first tier has been completed.
Adult yellow jackets feed only on nectar and fruit juices using their long tongues, while animal tissues (mostly insects and other arthropods, but occasionally carrion) are fed to larvae. Larvae jiggle around in their cells alerting nearby workers that they are hungry. A worker will then proceed to go out and capture a prey item.
Sigma 105mm f/2.8 EX DG Macro mounted on a Canon XTi. Very sharp, take a look close up.