Wasps - The wasp is a highly social insect. Wasp colonies consist of a queen, workers and drones (males). In autumn, males and queens are produced by the colony. These mate, and the newly fertilized queens will be the only ones surviving the winter, seeking out sheltered areas under rocks, bark and harborage such as rodent burrows. In the spring, the queen begins construction of a nest and raises her first brood of workers, which maintain the colony. Wasps construct nests out of papery material consisting of wood or foliage they have chewed. The larvae are fed chiefly on insects and other arthropods or on bits of tissue from animal carcasses. Colonies vary from thirty to several thousand.

Yellow Jackets - Social insects forming colonies of 75 to more than 5,000 workers, yellow jackets have an annual nesting cycle. In autumn, hundreds of new queens emerge from the colony, mate with males, and hibernate until spring. A single overwintered queen will build a colony without aid from other queens. After the first brood of workers is produced, the queen becomes the egg layer and rarely leaves the colony. Summer is a time of rapid growth and the colony survives until late fall depending on the species and locality. Colonies are formed near the ground or in human dwellings. They are attracted to meat (protein), sweets and soda pop.

Bees - Highly social insects, bee colonies consist of a queen, workers and drones (males). Bees differ from wasps in that the young are fed honey and pollen rather than animal food. Bees, the most important insects involved in pollinating plants, collect nectar that is concentrated into honey by evaporation.