Pacific Northwest. This is a new one for us, found in our lawnmower shed at the inside peak of the roof. Smallish bees, non-aggressive (so far), with what my husband calls a "knucklehead" nest (which is actually rather pretty). Who are they? Thanks - Deb
These are not bees, but wasps in the family Vespidae. Several species of these collectively are known as 'yellow jackets' and can be aggressive if their nest is disturbed. They are for the most part general predators on other arthropods, and thus can be useful. See http://tinyurl.com/kpq7zp for detailed information.
that is a beautiful nest. i'd be tempted to take it down in the dead of winter and varnish it. if you do, just don't assume that come spring, they won't be flying out of there. i've known people to do that with hornet's nests. they brought them into the house in winter and as soon as the nest reached room temp, out they came. it was NOT fun.
Thanks for the info. Our usual yellow jackets are larger than these, so must be a different species. I do like the idea of preserving the nest, it's quite lovely. I'll give that some thought -- meanwhile they are not bothering anyone. Deb
