Dakota Gardener: Not all yellow-striped insects are created equal

Yellowjackets have smooth bodies with few hairs compared to bees. (Photo by Whitney Cranshaw, Colorado State University, Bugwood.org)

Yellowjackets have smooth bodies with few hairs compared to bees. (Photo by Whitney Cranshaw, Colorado State University, Bugwood.org)

Dakota Gardener: Not all yellow-striped insects are created equal

Dakota Gardener: Not all yellow-striped insects are created equal

Dakota Gardener: Not all yellow-striped insects are created equal

Dakota Gardener: Not all yellow-striped insects are created equal

As I ate my sandwich outdoors, a persistent yellow and black insect kept circling me. Getting closer and closer, it landed on my paper plate. I carefully shooed it away, hoping not to anger it. I have an innate fear of this insect, having been painfully stung years ago. This aggressive insect is a yellowjacket.

Yellowjackets, a social wasp, are more visible and downright hangry in August and Septem…