Why is that yellowjacket crashing your BBQ? Well, she wants what you're having: burgers, hot dogs, fish and turkey. But she doesn't eat them herself. Her nest's larvae need that protein to develop. So she carves up your dinner and makes teenytiny meatballs for them.

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Yellowjackets bring back all kinds of interesting fare to their nests. The scavenging species might make meatballs out of moth wings, cockroaches or pieces of carrion. And all that food gathering and flying around gives adult yellowjackets an appetite. After delivering scavenged foods to the larvae, adult yellowjackets prod the youngsters and they offer their thanks in the form of a sugary throw up, or exudate. The adults slurp that up and jet off on more meatball missions.

+ Are yellowjackets pollinators?

Yellowjackets are pollinators! They visit flowers to gather sugary nectar that helps fuel their flight. They’re not as good at pollinating plants as bees are because their bodies are less hairy so they don’t pick up as much pollen.

+ Do yellowjackets die after they sting?

Yellowjackets do not die after they sting. They can sting multiple times, but it’s a last resort when they are threatened.

+ Find additional resources and a transcript on KQED Science:

https://www.kqed.org/science/1980663/...

+ Busy Bees and Other Pollinators Playlist:

   • Stop! Thief! Carpenter Bees are Notor...  

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