Ann wrote:
beecrofter expounded:


"Yellowjackets also live in the
ground, nasty buggers, but they aren't pollinators. "

Guess again.


No, I'll learn, but I'm not guessing. I thought they were carnivores.
I didn't know they did any pollination. I still don't like them, they
hurt.

The adults hunt meat for the carnivorous larvae..the adults feed off of
nectar (doing some pollinating) and other sweet liquids along with sweet
extracts the larvae produce.


Ground nesting solitary bees are generally docile, stopping to mess
with you means their young do not survive.
You could get stung if you pinched one or put it in your pocket or
otherwise trapped it in your clothing, but that's the kind of effort
it would take.


Yes, that's what I was saying. Leave them alone and they'll leave you
alone.

I get at least a call a year in my business from people who have been
stung by digger bees. Lots of times it's a barefoot kid that has stepped
on one at the nest site, but would say more reports of their stings are
from adults that had one get caught in a sleeve or neck line when they
were apparently walking across the nest area as the bees were dropping
down towards their nest opening.

Lar