Tennessee Renaissance Farm is here to benefit... me, mostly. The things that I do, the things that I choose not to do, the animals I bring in and the ones that were already here all serve purposes. This is the first real eviction from the Farm, but the rule here is everybody chips in. No free rent, right?And so it is with yellow jackets. This particular gang of them has harassed The Gentleman Farmer and my family a few times this summer. One nephew has been stung on two occasions. It's hard to locate yellow jackets safely, so I've just avoided the area and put off dealing with it. Today I was mowing, thinking I was not close to where the nest was, actually kindof mowing a border around where I thought it was, when it suddenly looked like the ground was moving where I had just mowed.
Instinct kicked in before thoughts, causing me to run. When I slowed down and looked back, it was a literal cloud of the pests, much like the bees when I have a hive opened for inspection. The yellow jackets gradually settled down again, but it would be their last hurrah.
As dusk happened, I gathered some tools: Mag Lite, camera, matches, leftover citronella oil. The flames weren't as impressive as I had imagined. (I really don't like yellow jackets.)
ALSO NOTE IN THESE PHOTOS: The yellow jackets (sortof) have similar coloration to honeybees. They are NOT bees. Bees are not aggressive (they are defensive). Bees have fuzz on them. Yellow jackets are naked. Yellow jackets' heads are shaped weirdly. Usually, yellow jackets will help themselves to sugary drinks on your picnic. Bees much prefer nectar from flowers. Bees also do their part on the farm, producing that liquid gold that The Gentleman Farmer loves.
I was in the parking lot at WalMart the other day and saw a discarded soda can that was covered with honeybees. I had never seen bees feeding on discarded soda the way yellow jackets commonly do. Do you have any ideas?
ReplyDeleteWOW - Yellow jackets!!! That's no fun!!
ReplyDeleteHey Jack (long time!), I don't really have much explanation, but my guess is the weather has alot of bees off kilter. I noticed there were a few bees around the drink dispensers when I worked the Wayside booth at the fair. Usually, bees don't get out much when it's rainy (or cloudy), but I think they get a little cabin fever and/or have some need they have to get out for. Or, the lack of sunshine causes less flowers to bloom, causing bees to gather what they can find.
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