Vespula squamosa
In 3 days ~10% in a week ~30%
Vespula squamosa, or the southern yellowjacket, is a social wasp. This species can be identified by its distinctive black and yellow patterning and orange queen. This species is typically found in eastern North America, and its territory extends as far south as Central America. Within these territories, they create enormous, multiple-comb nests. The colonies may be either annual or perennial depending on the climate, and in many perennial nests, polygyny takes place. In addition, this species uses pheromones both as a sexual attractant and an alarm signal. This species feeds on insects and animal carcasses; it does not produce honey. V. squamosa, a social insect, has developed a parasitic relationship with the species V. vidua and V. maculifrons. Due to their painful, venomous stings, the species is considered a pest.
V. squamosa is commonly called the southern yellowjacket. It was described by Dru Drury around 1770. It is a member of the family Vespidae, which includes paper wasps (subfamily Polistinae), pollen wasps (subfamily Masarinae), potter and mason wasps (subfamily Eumeninae), and yellow jackets (subfamily Vespinae). The family Vespidae has about... Wikipedia →
| # | Park | Country | Daily sighting probability |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Everglades National Park | 🇺🇸 United States | |
| 2 | Merritt Island National Wildlife Refuge | 🇺🇸 United States | |
| 3 | Shenandoah National Park | 🇺🇸 United States | |
| 4 | Great Smoky Mountains National Park | 🇺🇸 United States |
| # | City | Country | Daily sighting probability |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Toluca | 🇲🇽 México | |
| 2 | Baltimore | 🇺🇸 United States | |
| 3 | Philadelphia | 🇺🇸 United States | |
| 4 | Austin | 🇺🇸 United States | |
| 5 | Dallas | 🇺🇸 United States | |
| 6 | Washington | 🇺🇸 United States | |
| 7 | San Antonio | 🇺🇸 United States | |
| 8 | Puebla | 🇲🇽 México | |
| 9 | Mexico City | 🇲🇽 México | |
| 10 | New York City | 🇺🇸 United States |
Rare
Under 5% of wildlife watchers report a Southern Yellowjacket sighting in Great Smoky Mountains National Park on a given day, based on 8 verified sightings from GBIF citizen-science data from 2019 to 2026. It is the 513th most-seen of the 822 insects we can rate there. Over three days the chance rises to about 10%, and over a week to about 30%, if each day is a fresh chance.
January
In that month about 20% of wildlife watchers report a Southern Yellowjacket in Great Smoky Mountains National Park on a given day, against under 5% in February–March, May–August and October–December, the lowest months.
Between 8 and 11 am
Across all the parks we cover, that three-hour window holds the most Southern 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.
4th of 4
Of the 4 parks where we can rate Southern Yellowjacket sightings, Great Smoky Mountains National Park ranks 4th at under 5%. The best odds are in Everglades National Park (United States, about 10%), Merritt Island National Wildlife Refuge (United States, about 10%) and Shenandoah National Park (United States, about 10%).
Same genus: Vespula
The closest relatives of the Southern Yellowjacket that you can see in Great Smoky Mountains National Park (genus Vespula, Ground Yellowjackets) are Eastern Yellowjacket (about 10%) and Downy Yellowjacket (about 10%), with each one's daily chance of a sighting.
GBIF citizen-science records
It is estimated from how often the Southern Yellowjacket is recorded against all the insects logged in Great Smoky Mountains National Park (8 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.
