Eastern yellowjacket identification (Vespula maculifrons)


Insect identifier · Ants, bees, and wasps

How to identify a Eastern yellowjacket

Vespula maculifrons
· Also called yellow jacket, meat bee, wasp, yellow jacket identification, ground bee or yellowjacket, wasp nest in lawn

Eastern yellowjacket identification photo

A hole in the lawn with yellow-black wasps in August is usually yellowjackets, not “ground bees.” Colonies peak late summer and get aggressive around food.

August lawn, yellow-black wasps in and out of a hole. Not ground bees. Colonies peak late summer and get aggressive around food. Leave. Do not pour gasoline in the hole. Paper wasps have an open comb under the eave. Honey bees are fuzzy and often leave a stinger.

What does a eastern yellowjacket look like?

Bright yellow and black, relatively hairless, stockier than paper wasps. Nests underground or in walls.

Eastern yellowjacket (Vespula maculifrons) is About 10–16 mm. Colors people notice: yellow, black. Field marks: Bright yellow and black, relatively hairless; Nests underground or in walls; Attracted to sweets and meat; Can sting repeatedly. It is found both. If those marks are missing, open Western yellowjacket, Northern paper wasp, Honey bee before you force this name. Search phrases that belong on this page include what a eastern yellowjacket looks like and eastern yellowjacket identification.

Identification marks

  • Bright yellow and black, relatively hairless
  • Nests underground or in walls
  • Attracted to sweets and meat
  • Can sting repeatedly

Size: About 10–16 mm
Colors: yellow, black
Where: both

What a typical eastern yellowjacket bite looks like

Typical eastern yellowjacket bite or sting
A typical pattern. Reactions vary. This is a guide photo, not a diagnosis.

Hot, painful sting, rapid swelling, later an itchy red plaque. Multiple stings if you hit a nest. Leave — they recruit nestmates.

People searching “eastern yellowjacket bite identification” want the pattern, not a single anonymous bump. Hot, painful sting, rapid swelling. Later, an itchy red plaque. Multiple stings if you hit a nest. Immediate steps on this page: Leave the area — they recruit nestmates; Wash, ice; ER for allergy or stings in the mouth; Soothe itch the next day on intact skin. This species does bite or sting people. Fever, spreading redness, trouble breathing, or a child with many stings is professional care.

If you were bitten

  1. Leave the area — they recruit nestmates
  2. Wash, ice
  3. ER for allergy or stings in the mouth
  4. Soothe itch the next day on intact skin

Eastern yellowjacket vs Western yellowjacket

Hole in the lawn in August is this, not a honey bee. Paper wasps have open umbrella nests under eaves and long legs. Bald-faced hornets build aerial gray globes.

Range and season

Eastern North America, peak late summer–early fall.

Eastern lawns, wall voids, and picnic tables, peaking late summer.

Eastern North America. Ground nests in lawns cause many late-summer stings.

Peak late summer–early fall

Common questions

Why so many yellowjacket stings in August?

Colonies peak in late summer and become aggressive around food.

Ground bees or yellowjackets?

If they stream from a hole in the lawn and are yellow-black and shiny, think yellowjacket.

Do they bite and sting?

They can bite but the medical issue is the sting.

What is flying in and out of a hole in my lawn?

Often yellowjackets. They are shiny yellow-black and defend the nest in late summer.

Yellowjacket vs paper wasp?

Yellowjacket: stocky, shiny, ground or wall nest, picnic aggressive. Paper wasp: long legs, open comb under eaves.

Related identification pages