Q. We have some yellowjackets on our front porch that seem to be using a paper wasp nest. They keep buzzing us every time we walk by. I thought yellowjackets nested in the ground.
A. Yellowjackets do nest either in the ground or they make enclosed papery nests in trees or shrubs; they do not occupy paper wasp nests. I think you may have made the acquaintance of the European paper wasp which looks very much like a yellowjacket!
VIEW MOREQ. I saw some flying bees that look like yellowjackets going into a hole in the ground near our driveway. I thought yellowjackets made those big, round nests in trees?
VIEW MOREQ. Some kind of big wasp is attacking my lilac bush. It looks like it’s chewing on the bark. It looks kind of like a yellowjacket only bigger and darker. Do you know what it is?
VIEW MOREQ. Help! Woodpeckers are destroying our house! In the last week or so, woodpeckers have been attacking our cedar siding and pecking holes. We can’t seem to scare them away. They’re right back. How can we get them to leave our house alone?
VIEW MOREQ. Do you know what those mud tubes are that I see on the wall under my front porch? Do they belong to some kind of insect? Some of the tubes have holes in them.
A. What you’re seeing are the nests of the mud dauber wasp, probably the organ pipe mud dauber. This wasp’s long mud tube nests are stacked side by side, looking like the pipes of an organ. In early spring, you’re probably seeing what is left of last year’s nests. The holes mean that the wasps have already exited the nest.
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Q. I’m starting to see little mounds of soil pop up in one area of my lawn. I’ve seen sand wasps before, but there are dozens of these things flying low to the ground and they sort of look like some type of bee. What are they?
32 Lake Ave.
Worcester, MA 01604
47 Thames Rd Ste 6&7
Hooksett, NH 03106