lol
Did you get stung today? Bad bug!

I don't understand the point you are trying to make though there are many more kinds of bees than your illustration shows and yellow jackets look nothing like bees.

Anne Miller wrote:I don't understand the point you are trying to make though there are many more kinds of bees than your illustration shows and yellow jackets look nothing like bees.

I believe the point being made was that bees are awesome, and yellow jackets/hornets suck.  And I couldn't agree more.

I didn't make the document, I found it. 

I would also like to see this format greatly expanded. 

For Paul

And...

I love these!  Post more!

All I can think is that none of you would survive my yard. I have neighbors who keep honeybees and there are many in my yard. I still think yellow jackets are the most numerous pollinators in my garden.

They never bother me, maybe two stings in the worst years when I accidentally disturb a nest. I've literally carried nests, in my bare hands, with wasps on them, to other areas of the yard without a problem. My mother on the other hand can't go anywhere near them. I've literally been standing next to her when she's been repeatedly stung and they ignored me.

actually Tod they are both female .
I thought your examples far superior to Pauls .

And...

Todd Parr wrote: I believe the point being made was that bees are awesome, and yellow jackets/hornets suck.  And I couldn't agree more.

While I can't say that I like yellow jackets, wasps or hornets they do have their place on earth.  I think that the jury is still out as to whether or not they are pollinators.  They eat insects and may eat nectar, if so then they maybe pollinators. They may eat those nasty bugs that are eating your veggies.

I have been stung by many a wasp; I know how much it hurts. Have you seen those flying fortresses in Asia/Japan. AMAZING! Thank goodness they aren't aggressive. That said, I'm not a little shocked by this thread. Wasps, bees, flies, and 'yellow jackets' are our partners in whatever it is we're doing. Have you ever seen a yellow jacket eviscerate a cabbage moth caterpillar? Yellow jackets play a vital role, just as we do, in the garden, the economy, and the world. If we can't get along with something that's just doing its job, how are we ever going to get along with each other?

In spite of the fact that one person already posted that this thread is a joke, people still don't seem to get it.  Life is easier if you laugh occasionally.  Honest.

No one is saying they are completely useless and should be eradicated. These pictures are not 100% factual and are only for humor. Like the previous post said just laugh at them. Read them chuckle a little and move on.

I've seen these memes on facebook. They are cute and are a real indication of how people feel about wasps. And too, wasps can sure be mean when they find reason to be.

On the other side of it, I've read bees and wasps are capable of facial recognition, and I personally believe they are very aware of body language. I admit, I have no real proof but it's what I believe.
I was stung by a wasp once many years ago when I was scared of them. My entire body language would have been one of fear. Near a predatory creature, I was practically begging to be stung.

Now that I like them and no longer fear them, I notice they never bother me. I welcome them in my yard and I think they recognize that by my body language.
The wasps have bothered other people with me (usually the scared ones who end up taking off their hat to try and kill the wasp - never a good idea) but they always leave me alone.

Hornets are totally different story. I rarely see one but they scare me. They always seem to be in a bad mood.

Hornets are wasps.

When bees are happy can literally take my boy right near the hive entrance and they will fly by us without a problem this spring has been different bees been cooped up too long and this cold wet spring has forced them to be cooped up much longer than what I would like.  hoping when the honey flow hits they mellow out.

image link
paper wasp vs yellow jacket
Image result for paper wasp vs yellow jacketwww.waspsgone.com
Paper wasps and hornets, like yellow jackets, are social wasps (that is, they form colonies) but they nest aboveground. They also help control garden pests. Both can inflict nasty stings and can be aggressive, but they don't scavenge like yellow jackets and so are less likely to show up at outdoor activities.
Paper wasps [lower right] are definitely capable of face recognition in my experience.  Because of the territorial nature of most wasps I have found it advantages to cultivate a close relationship with the paper wasps. Paper wasps are a sisterhood instead of a queen and worker army. There may be several nests close together for mutual protection. There nests are open so you can see them and they will face you and ask what are your intentions. Please talk to them, they will understand that you raise plants that bugs like to eat, so tell them they are welcome partners in your garden and if they are not able to stop a yellow jacket from making a nest nearby You will help destroy it so they don't rob their nest.
I have also moved their nests when in a wrong place.  I have also been stung for violating their space but they consider once lightly enough to reinforce the rules.

In years when I have more yellow jackets, I have fewer cabbage worms on my cole crops.

justin rhodes was just visiting the "Permaculture Orchard" guy and he sang the praises of yellow jackets, they help with the codling moth.

paul wheaton wrote:I didn't make the document, I found it. 

I would also like to see this format greatly expanded. 

The honey bee, amazing creature that it is, has purpose, and gets around. Works hard for the queen and has a unique place within the system  of pollenation, and is much established as an important part of life for flour and fauna alike.

The bumble bee also pollenates but produces less honey, yet seems to have a bit of a weight problem,(you do the math), which is offset by the fact that it defies the laws of physics just getting around according to Urban legend, giving us all a warm (little engine that could) feeling inside, or at least those of us with a soul.

The yellow jacket is a carnivorous bastard who is protected and fed by the queen herself until it grows up to be a predatory bully among other bullies. Socially anti social bastards....yet, part of the great cycle of life. 

Really, I know little about them all. I learned something today. Yay me. Thanks for the post.

I remember being SHOCKED I didn't get stung during my time on the lab, way back in the day.  That was a baaaaaaad year for yellowjackets.  A few years before that, we were having really aggressive yellowjackets towards the end of summer, and I started to wonder what the heck these bugs were good for.  I did a Google search, and learned that they eat soft bodied bugs, but that at the end of summer, when food sources are dwindling, they can get aggressive, and also that's when they seem to start bugging us while eating outdoors.  They want that steak!  I got a tip from a Swiss friend: open a can of cat food, and put it a safe distance from where you want to hang out.  The strong smell of the catfood attracts them, and they leave you (and your steak) alone.  It works just ok.  I've seen them on my artichoke plants in the garden, AND one time I had the incredible experience of having a yellowjacket land on a big chair I was sitting on outiside, I stayed calm and turned around to watch it, it was bathing its face, like a cat.  Then, a tiny inchworm happened along and the yellowjacket stopped bathing, picked up the little worm and SHOVED that thing into it's mouth like a log into a lumbermill!.  It was incredible!  The little worm was equivalent to about a 3'x1' diameter hot dog to a human, and it was gone in a second.  I watched all of this happen inches in front of my face.  AWESOME.

I try to come to peace with most creatures. I figure they serve a purpose. But last year was bad for yellow jackets. Really bad. It gave me a new perspective on when people say they have a "yellowjacket problem" and when people have a yellow jacket problem. When it's dry and they're established, I learned there is no way prevention, no avoidance, no "being at peace" with them. I learned this as three yellow jackets were crawling on my face, one trying to drink from my eyeball while one of my friends told me to "just stay calm and they'll go away". She got bit in the face that day. These creatures have no sense of self-worth. This puts them at the top of the food chain, because they just don't give a single fuck about anything (including staying alive). The queen is the only one that matters, and she never leaves the nest. Every winter all the workers and males die. They thrive on a cycle of assholery and suicide. This spring, I hung up 15 yellow jacket traps around my cabin. It was a really wet winter. We have almost no yellow jackets. I remind myself of how grateful I am for this every single day.

I did learn three very important things last year:

1. It's awesome to watch bald faced hornets dive bomb and tackle yellow jackets mid-air. The hornets have no effect on yellow jacket populations.

2. Yellow jackets love yellow. Tractors are yellow. Get an enclosed cab if you value your sanity.

3. There are few more cathartic experiences than lighting a yellow jacket nest on fire (I know, I know…). You can only get bit so many times before you have to get revenge.