Yellow jackets can seem to arrive in Maryland yards all at once. A lawn that looked completely uneventful earlier in summer may suddenly have wasps hovering around the patio, investigating a soda can, gathering beneath a fruit tree, or moving quickly through the grass. The change is especially noticeable toward the end of summer, when colonies that began quietly in spring have had months to grow.
Maryland’s long, warm growing season gives yellowjacket colonies plenty of time to develop. The state also contains a remarkable mixture of landscapes, from the Chesapeake Bay and Eastern Shore to suburban neighborhoods around Baltimore and Washington, D.C., rolling Piedmont farmland, and the forested western counties near the Appalachian Mountains. Each landscape offers different food and shelter opportunities.
The yellow jackets you see around your property are usually workers searching for food. They may be collecting insects for the colony, scavenging meat and garbage, or seeking sugary foods and ripe fruit. Their sudden visibility does not necessarily mean that a nest has suddenly appeared in the yard…