Vespula maculifrons
In 3 days ~40% in a week ~70%
The eastern yellowjacket (eastern yellow jacket; Vespula maculifrons) is a wasp found in eastern North America. Although most of their nests are subterranean, they are often considered a pest due to their nesting in recreational areas and buildings. This yellow jacket is a social insect, living in colonies of hundreds to thousands of individuals. Along with their subfamily, Vespinae, this species demonstrates supportive parental care for offspring, separation of reproductive and sterile castes, and overlapping generations. They aggressively defend their nests from threats and are known to inflict painful stings.
V. maculifrons, in the family Vespidae and the subfamily Vespinae, is commonly found throughout the Northern Hemisphere as part of the yellowjackets. For example, V. maculifrons is commonly called the eastern yellowjacket and has the black and yellow color that distinguishes the yellowjackets. The specific name maculifrons is derived from the Latin word macula, which means spot, and frons, which means forehead. This refers to the spots on the head of species, which are another distinguishing characteristic. Like other Vespula species, V. maculifrons... Wikipedia →
| # | Park | Country | Daily sighting probability |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Shenandoah National Park | 🇺🇸 United States | |
| 2 | Great Smoky Mountains National Park | 🇺🇸 United States | |
| 3 | Acadia National Park | 🇺🇸 United States |
| # | City | Country | Daily sighting probability |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Boston | 🇺🇸 United States | |
| 2 | Washington | 🇺🇸 United States | |
| 3 | Philadelphia | 🇺🇸 United States | |
| 4 | Minneapolis [Saint Paul] | 🇺🇸 United States | |
| 5 | Baltimore | 🇺🇸 United States | |
| 6 | New York City | 🇺🇸 United States | |
| 7 | Detroit | 🇺🇸 United States | |
| 8 | Toronto | 🇨🇦 Canada | |
| 9 | Chicago | 🇺🇸 United States | |
| 10 | Montreal | 🇨🇦 Canada |
With luck
About 10% of wildlife watchers report an Eastern Yellowjacket sighting in Great Smoky Mountains National Park on a given day, based on 86 verified sightings from GBIF citizen-science data from 2019 to 2026. It is the 61st most-seen of the 822 insects we can rate there. Over three days the chance rises to about 40%, and over a week to about 70%, if each day is a fresh chance.
November
In that month about 30% of wildlife watchers report an Eastern Yellowjacket in Great Smoky Mountains National Park on a given day, against under 5% in January and February, the lowest months.
Between noon and 3 pm
Across all the parks we cover, that three-hour window holds the most Eastern Yellowjacket sightings with a recorded time, and about 9 in 10 of them come between 6 am and 6 pm: it is a daytime animal.
2nd of 3
Of the 3 parks where we can rate Eastern Yellowjacket sightings, Great Smoky Mountains National Park ranks 2nd at about 10%. The best odds are in Shenandoah National Park (United States, about 20%).
GBIF citizen-science records
It is estimated from how often the Eastern Yellowjacket is recorded against all the insects logged in Great Smoky Mountains National Park (86 verified sightings from 2019 to 2026), calibrated against known sighting rates. Figures are rounded to the nearest 10% because citizen-science data supports honest approximations, not decimals, and months with records from fewer than five people show "—". How it works.
