Individuals stung by Yellow Jackets may show a variety of reactions ranging from no evident effect to anaphylactic shock resulting in death.  It is believed many human deaths may wrongly be attributed to "heart attacks" or "heat strokes" when actually they result from the stings of venomous insects.

The order Hymenotera consists of sawflies, horntails, wasps, ants and bees.  There are some 113,000 known species in this order and more than 17,000 are found in North America.

Characteristics of Yellow Jackets - The Yellow Jacket is a real problem in the wasp world for humans.  These social wasps live in colonies which number in the thousands. 

These beneficial insects would not anger or threaten us except that have adapted themselves to living very closely with us.  They take advantage of us by sometimes nesting in the wall voids and attics of our homes where they can go unnoticed all season.  They leave the nest area flying outdoors in search of food. 

In the fall, when food becomes scarce and the temperatures are cool, they find their way into living areas of the home.