By Emma Delk, The Intelligencer
WHEELING, W.Va. — While residents may have observed dead grass patches on their lawns due to drought conditions, another impact of the dry weather in backyards is increased yellow jacket populations.
Yellow jackets typically nest in the ground, with drought conditions driving more of the insect to the surface to search for food as nectar sources deplete.
As yellow jackets become hungrier, they become “a little more aggressive,” according to WVU Agriculture & Natural Resources Extension Agent Karen Cox, due to their need to “scavenge whatever they can” to survive.
“All the plants are dead because of the drought, so that means there’s not much nectar,” Cox said. “The places where there is nectar usually have irrigation, which is usually people’s yards or public areas that are tended. Yellow jackets enter these areas to get nectar from flowers, clovers and whatever else they can scavenge.”
Cox said yellow jacket populations peak in late summer and early fall. Since yellow jackets breed faster in hot conditions, the recent hot spell has exacerbated the problem.
Yellow jackets are also more likely to move beyond someone’s garden to obtain food. Cox noted that the hungrier they are, the more likely they are to invade picnics and steal soda and other foods.
“The yellow jackets are bordering on ‘hangry’ right now,” Cox said. “They are coming out and trying to find enough food to keep their colony alive until winter.”
