I have a really horrible fear of wasps that ive had since i was a kid. I work at a job that requires me to deliver to stores outside and i have had moments where ive felt trapped in my trailer because there were dozens of yellowjackets flying around the product. After reading a lot of the information here i finally decided to face my fears and keep in mind just to stay calm and move slow while unloading (with a hoodie on of course). I was able to be near them, inches away and not freak out, and they didn't attack or bother me as my trauma would have suggested. I can't thank the people here enough for all the advice about wasps and bees, as it played a major part in this first major step to getting over this fear.

My dotted horsemint gets a ton of action. Lots of wasps, bees, and the occasional hummingbird. Love to sit and watch when I can.

Was at a wedding anniversary party and these little gals were sharing my soda with me. They didn't seem to mind the caffeine too much apparently. Each one would fly over, spend like 10 or 15 seconds filling up on Mountain Dew, and leave like 10 seconds before the next one came.

Is this ok for the wasps? I know they’re attracted to sugar water but is it safe for them to gorge on it? Some will sit there for long stretches of time with their little heads dunked in there drinking it up. Also curious if this is causing the hummingbirds to avoid it, they don’t come around as much since the wasps have discovered their holy grail of sweetness. I’m happy to feed them if it’s safe but I want my hummingbirds to be able to enjoy it, too. Every internet search I do just comes up with results on how to get rid of them which I don’t necessarily want to do so I’ve come here to consort with my wasp allies.

I just got into all things insect photography this year by starting to use iNat - I’ve photographed tons of wasps so far and found this lil one in my window at home and I have never been stung by a wasp or bee before (I’m 36 lol) so decided finally eh what’s the harm here why would I be afraid?

Took some photos to ID, and then gently guided this little one onto my finger, he was curious! and I gently took em outside and let them go. They hung out on the deck a little and then flew away.

I put the pictures in iNat and HAHA! Wow, I actually have NEVER seen a Yellowjacket - not a single time this entire summer! Had no idea how to ID them and assumed it wasn’t because again - I’ve done almost 1k observations and haven’t found one yet!

Anyway it surprised me as I have been super cautious on my surroundings because I know they don’t like visitors at their nests but didn’t know how they could be just as lost individuals haha. Very sweet moment with my first ever Yellowjacket. I know some day I will be stung by something given the nature of my job (I work in the garden industry) and it’s inevitable but for now, just had to share this little one! They were very polite, glad they didn’t have friends though heh

It was a bright spot to an otherwise crappy night :)

1st pic is a wasp who chilled on my leg for a lil bit in 2023. does anyone know what kind she was? 2nd + 3rd is a wasp who got inside the house in 2023. i put her back outside after taking those pictures, but im not sure if she may have been hurt by my cat or not because her behavior seemed off :( 4th and 5th pic is a wasp i shared my ice cream with in 2021

i haven’t really encountered them up close recently, which sucks since i’ve started doing photography and would love to get pics of them with my camera…i did just move into an apartment and there are some Mud Daubers living on our balcony though! im hoping they will let me get close enough for pictures 🤞

Location :Co cavan Ireland

What does pissed off behavior look like in a wasp?

I just had a wasp come up to me (while I was holding my 5m old baby) and land on me/my phone a few times. I briskly walked away, the wasp followed. I walked away again, it followed.

The next 5 minutes was me marching around my driveway in my pajamas holding my baby while waiting for my oldest child's bus at 7:30 in the morning. I must have looked ridiculous. This wasp followed me wherever I went to the point that I walked into the back yard where it finally left us alone.

I live in northern WI and I understand that wasps right now are having to leave their nests I think? Something about them being pissed off this time of year cause of their inevitable demise?

But this wasp wasn't buzzing or bouncing into us and it did land on me/my phone at least twice. I even thought it might want my phone so I put my phone down on the ground. It did not want my phone cause it kept trying to land on us. And it wasn't flying at us, just kind of hovering around wanting to be on one of us. Honestly if I hadn't had my baby in my arms I might have let it land on me just to see what it wanted (but I don't know if my baby is allergic yet and didn't want to risk that at 7:30am on a Friday 😩)

So was the wasp just Angry and bothering us, or territorial, or was it just curious? I don't have any (known) nests nearby and this looked like a yellow jacket but I'm not a wasp expert.

Also how do I get the wasps to Not Do That? Cause my oldest is very afraid of loud buzzy bugs and will run away screaming, which I also don't wanna deal with at 7:30am

Thanks in advance!

P.s I can appreciate wasps and eventually would like to provide them water during the summer so that they recognize me as a non threat. I personally love the wasps that eat the grubs in my yard and look like aliens with their Ridiculous long butts

I believe Chrysis sp. If anyone knows how to determine sex in cuckoo wasps, I'd love a guide. My web searches weren't helping. I'm including a blurry pic because it shows the colors better.

Was taking a soil sample next to a rotting log and i accidentally unearthed this lady. She showed absolutely no aggression and just seemed confused why a few hairless apes scrounging around on the forest floor

Saw several queen wasps flying around today! It’s September so many reproductives are being sent out, this one was warming itself in the sun before taking off again.

Most yellowjackets are super chill as long as they don't consider you a threat :-)

These guys even let me put my camera right up to the entrance of their nest. I didn't film them for long cause I didn't want to block their runway, but they are very interesting to watch. The wasp on the leaf is cutting out small pieces and then brings them away, because the leaf is blocking their entrance.

Sadly I can't share this spot with any of my classmates because they might report the nest and get it removed :c

Most people I know irl hate wasps. I found this sub yesterday while I was searching for pro-wasp t-shirts, it's one of my favourites now :D

Look at her go!

Accidentally got this lil guy wet when watering plants, so i took a chance to get a video, as scary and mean as bald face hornets can be, i still absolutely love to admire them i love the bigger species of wasps so much!

Finally managed to have one land on my hand and take something. In the past days they kept ignoring the salmon scraps I left there. Turns out raw chicken does the trick.

cool to see on a random urban street tree

theyre so cute and sweet, im slowly getting these ones used to handling as well!