this post was submitted on 27 Sep 2023
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Paper wasps are generally good pollinators and not assholes, but they have yellow striping to make them look scary.
Yellow jackets are assholes, unusually aggressive and territorial and this becomes a problem because they also tend to love human food and beverage. In my region, I would also say fuck the bald-faced hornet, which is naturally related to the yellow jacket and is similarly aggressive. Fortunately less common (I haven't been stung by one, but apparently it's worse than it is with a yellow jacket).
Boll's Potter wasps (if I'm remembering their name correctly) are also common where I am and they are pretty chill and just go about pollinating. I'm sure there are a bunch of others that I haven't yet learned to identify.
tl;dr: Yellow jackets and their relatives are assholes. The rest are mostly okay.
We got a small hornet nest somewhat nearby. They tend to come over and murder all the asshole wasps which is nice. The hornets are reddish orange, no idea what kind they are but I like them. Otherwise they are super chill and avoid humans.