What types of wasps, hornets, and yellowjackets live in Minnesota?

It’s no secret that these insects are the leading cause of screaming at outdoor events! Most of the species below can’t resist investigating a soda or sugary treat. 🙂

Despite their negative reputation, wasps and hornets have fascinating lives. In addition, many are beneficial because of the amount of pests they eat in your yard. They are also important pollinators!

But you do need to be careful around most types of wasps and hornets, especially if you approach their nest. They can become VERY aggressive when defending their home.

8 COMMON Wasps & Hornets in Minnesota:

#1. Dark Paper Wasp

Polistes fuscatus

Also called the Northern Paper Wasp.

Adults have slender bodies, pointed heads, waists connecting their abdomens and thoraxes, and antennae, which are more curved in males.
They are dark reddish-brown with yellow bands on their bodies, and males have more yellow markings on the front of their heads.

These wasps are common to see in Minnesota!

Dark Paper Wasps often build nests around human homes and outbuildings as long as they can find good sources of wood fibers for construction.

Unfortunately, their proximity to humans sometimes leads to unwanted interactions. Females sometimes sting humans or domestic animals when defending their nest. They are especially aggressive during the early part of the year when the nest is full of brood, waiting to become wasps. Towards the end of the summer, when most of the wasps are adults, they are less aggressive in defending the nest.

These wasps have some interesting eating habits! The adults get most of their nutrition from flower nectar, just like bees! I spot them often on the flowers in my backyard, especially on goldenrod flowers in the fall.

However, Dark Paper Wasps also spend a lot of time catching caterpillars and other small insects. The workers chew up this prey and absorb most of the liquid. They feed the solid portion to older larvae and then regurgitate the liquid for young larvae.

While Dark Paper Wasps can be a bit intimidating, their’ insectivorous behavior actually makes them great creatures for homeowners and gardeners to have around, as they eat a lot of pests.

#2. Bald-faced Hornet

Dolichovespula maculata

Also called the Bald-faced Aerial Yellowjacket, Bald-faced Wasp, Bald Hornet, White-faced Hornet, Blackjacket, White-tailed Hornet, Spruce Wasp, and Bull Wasp.

They have black bodies with ivory markings on their faces, legs, thoraxes, and abdomens.
Look for three white stripes at the ends of their bodies.

Bald-faced Hornets are named for the ivory markings on their face. Despite the name, these insects aren’t true hornets. They’re actually a type of yellowjacket.

Bald-face Hornets don’t have a pleasant reputation in Minnesota.

They aggressively defend their nests and can sting repeatedly. But while their appearance and nests can be scary, they’re pretty handy to have around (as long as the nest isn’t close to human habitation).

First, the adults feed on nectar and help to pollinate flowers. In addition, they also kill and eat other types of yellowjackets! Sometimes, in early summer, a nest will be so full of yellowjacket remains that it will have a yellowish cast! Unless their nest is somewhere you’ll come into contact with it, it’s best to leave them be.

I’m sure you have spotted one of their nests before. They are large, papery, and football-shaped. The queen builds these nests by chewing wood material and mixing it with her saliva to make a paste.

Bald-faced Hornet queens usually hang their nests from shrubs or trees. Sometimes, they’ll use other spots, including rocks, buildings, and other artificial materials. The queen typically continues creating workers into the summer until the nest has 100 to 400 individuals!

#3. Eastern Yellowjacket

Vespula maculifrons

They are black with yellow markings.
Their first abdominal segment has a wide, black, anchor-shaped marking.
Cheeks have continuous yellow bands that don’t completely encircle their eyes.

Eastern Yellowjackets seem to be found in every habitat in Minnesota!

In urban and suburban areas, you may spot them in woodlands, parks, pastures, and lawns. They’re not picky!

And unfortunately, these wasps can deliver an incredibly painful sting. Make sure you don’t wander too close to their nests, which they aggressively defend! These nests can be huge, as queens produce up to 25,000 individuals over a season.

Another problem with Eastern Yellowjackets is their nests are typically underground, so it’s hard to spot one. The nests are often found in residential lawns and are inconveniently discovered while mowing. 🙂

Eastern Yellowjackets feed on flower nectar and fruit juices (or soda and sugar) but spend much of their time gathering food, such as insects and occasionally carrion, for the colony’s larvae. The larvae wiggle to inform nearby workers that they’re hungry, and the workers go out and capture other insects using their powerful mandibles. The workers cut up, chew the insects, then feed the paste to the larvae.

#4. European Paper Wasp

Polistes dominula

Black with prominent yellow markings.
They have thin waists and orange-tipped antennae.
Their legs dangle as they fly.

These wasps’ bright yellow and black coloration means that they’re often confused with native Eastern Yellowjackets. However, European Paper Wasps are an invasive species in Minnesota. Unfortunately, they are now widespread, and researchers have found that they often outcompete native paper wasps and negatively affect caterpillars like the Monarch butterfly.

One of the reasons they have spread across North America is because of their adaptability. European Paper Wasps will inhabit almost any habitat, including urban and suburban areas. They often are closely associated with humans and nest on or in human-made structures. European Paper Wasps often build nests under the eaves or attics of structures or in pipes, light fixtures, boats, grills, and mailboxes.

These wasps are known to be fairly non-aggressive. However, they will defend their nests, and stings usually occur when humans accidentally come in contact with a nest.

European Paper Wasps are omnivores. They will catch insect larvae, caterpillars, aphids, and other soft-bodied insects that they feed the young. Adults may also feed on flower nectar.

#5. Fraternal Potter Wasp

Eumenes fraternus

Black, shiny abdomens with ivory markings on their faces, thoraxes, and bellies.
They have metallic bluish-brown wings.

Fraternal Potter Wasps are solitary, docile wasps found in Minnesota.

The name “wasp” may bring to mind large nests of defensive, often scary insects, but these little wasps don’t come close to that reputation! The females don’t even defend the nests; they only sting when purposely touched.

After mating, females begin building the characteristic little nests that give them their name. She sculpts little pot-like structures of clay and earth, usually securing them to vegetation. Occasionally, she will attach them to houses.

Once these little pots are finished, she begins collecting prey, usually caterpillars and small soft-bodied insects. Rather than eating them herself, she paralyzes the prey and places it into the pots.

Once enough is stored, she lays an egg in the pot, suspended over the prey. Then, she seals up the pot, allowing the egg to hatch, feed, and grow. The females don’t tend to the nests after this point.

#6. German Yellowjacket

Vespula germanica

Also called the European Wasp or German Wasp.

Black and yellow with three tiny black dots on their face.
They have a stout body slightly wider than their head and long black antennae.

Native to Europe, these wasps are invasive in Minnesota.

German Yellowjackets are primarily a ground-nesting species, but they will also nest in voids in buildings and are frequently found in urban and suburban areas.

German Yellowjackets are opportunistic scavengers. They will feed on fruit, honeydew, carrion, spiders and other arthropods, human food, and garbage. This flexible diet has been a critical feature in their widespread range expansion.

Interestingly, the size of their colonies is somewhat dependent on climate. For example, in Australia, colonies may have 15,000 workers, while those in the British Isles may only have 6,100 to 6,500 workers.

German Yellowjackets are known to defend their nests aggressively and can sting multiple times. They will often pursue their attackers for long distances. Combined with their large colony size, these factors make them formidable opponents to predators and dangerous to humans with pre-existing health issues and allergies.

#7. Common Aerial Yellowjacket

Dolichovespula arenaria

Also called the Sandhills Hornet and Common Yellow Hornet.

Black with yellow markings and smoky, clear wings.
They have stout bodies that are slightly wider than their heads.

Common Aerial Yellowjackets can adapt to various habitats in Minnesota. Typically, you’ll spot their papery nests on trees and shrubs, but they will sometimes build them on the side of homes in urban and suburban areas.

These wasps are formidable defenders of their nest and can sting multiple times like other yellowjackets. But this species also has another trick up its sleeve:

Common Aerial Yellowjackets can spray venom at attackers. This venom contains an alarm pheromone, which also helps alert other workers to help defend the nest.

The nest is made from saliva and chewed-up woody material turned into a paste.

These yellowjackets commonly feed high in the trees. In the spring and summer, they prey on various insects, including lacewings, lady beetles, caterpillars, spiders, flies, grasshoppers, and crickets. They will also occasionally eat young hummingbirds and carrion. Much of this protein-rich food is given to the larvae.

Later in the summer and fall, Common Aerial Yellowjackets spend more time going after sugary foods. They’re common sights feeding on fallen fruit in orchards, visiting trash cans, and hovering around sugary drinks and foods at picnics.

#8. Alaska Yellowjacket

Vespula alascensis

Also called the Common Yellowjacket.

Black and yellow bodies with yellow legs.
Yellow eyerings, which have dark interruptions on the tops and behind the eyes.
They have broad black bands leading from the base of their antennae to the tops of their heads.

Our knowledge of this species has taken some interesting twists! The Alaska Yellowjacket was first described and named by American entomologist and paleontologist Alpheus Spring Packard Jr. in 1870. Unfortunately, the information he gathered on this species was lost just a year later in the Great Chicago Fire of 1871!

After this point, the Alaska Yellowjacket (Vespula alascensis) was treated as a synonym for the similar-looking European Wasp (Vespula vulgaris). The Alaska Yellowjacket wasn’t recognized as a separate species until 2010!

Like many yellowjacket species in Minnesota, they typically build underground nests, which may help shelter them from hot or cold temperatures. They often build nests around areas of human habitation.

The adults are attracted to all things sweet, which is one of the reasons they’re often closely associated with people. Human food and garbage make for excellent food sources in addition to the nectar they gather from flowers.

Learn about other creatures in Minnesota:

Which of these wasps, hornets, and yellowjackets have you seen before in Minnesota?

Please leave a COMMENT below!

8 Common Wasps & Hornets in Minnesota (ID Guide)