Dakota Gardener: Not all yellowstriped insects are created equal

  • Dakota Gardener: Not all yellowstriped
    Dakota Gardener: Not all yellowstriped
  • Yellowjackets have smooth bodies with few hairs compared to bees. Photo by Whitney Cranshaw, Colorado State University, Bugwood.org
    Yellowjackets have smooth bodies with few hairs compared to bees. Photo by Whitney Cranshaw, Colorado State University, Bugwood.org

    As I ate my sandwich outdoors, a persistent yellow and black insect kept circling me. Getting closer and closer, it landed on my paper plate. I carefully shooed it away, hoping not to anger it. I have an innate fear of this insect, having been painfully stung years ago. This aggressive insect is a yellowjacket.

    Yellowjackets, a social wasp, are more visible and downright hangry in August and Septem…