Authorities Warn of Perennial Yellow Jacket Nests Showing Up in Alabama Again
OutdoorHub Reporters 07.03.19
Authorities in Alabama are warning the public to watch for perennial yellow jacket nests – also called “super nests” – which are capable of housing more yellow jackets than you probably want to know.
A perennial yellow jacket colony is one that survives the cold of winter and makes it to a second year. According to Fox News, at least two perennial yellow jacket nests were spotted in Alabama in May. Researchers with the Alabama Cooperative Extension System (ACES) believe milder winters and an abrupt food supply allow wasps to survive and go into the spring season with much larger numbers – Alas, resulting in the appearance of these gigantic nests.
A report from ACES says the first “super nest” was found back in June 2006. A year in which at least 90 other nests were also found.
“The most workers I have counted in a perennial nest is about 15,000 or about three to four times more than a normal nest,” said Charles Ray, an entomologist working with ACES. “However, one nest in South Carolina was documented with more than 250,000 workers.”
Experts urge that only licensed commercial pest control operators should handle the enormous nests – which can grow to the size of another “bug” – a Volkswagen Beetle..
