this is a question posted to me by "Spunkie" who is up in Michigan and
hasn't gone to the newsgroups for quite awhile. Anyone out there an expert
on this?
madgardener

is pollinator still on the garden newsgroup?
we are having an off topic subject about bees on my parrot group.
i described what we call yellow jackets up here, and some of the people
steered me to what looks like a mainly yellow wasp. mustard yellow
not the same bee i am talking about.
the one up here is about 1/2" long, between 1/4 and 1/2 " wide. mainly
bright yellow, black stripes around the main body [3 ?] and i think an all
black head [hey i haven't seen 1 since fall last year.] they are usually
the first bees in spring and last in fall.
its fuzzy like a honey bee. they are basically non aggresive unless people
start messing with them, they will sting several times.
they are big compared to most bees. if you laid 1 on a quarter its body
would almost fill it lengthwise. with a small area left on the sides.
can pollinator point me to web sites with american bees? the link i was
given was in the uk. their bees may be diff. than ours.
this is 1 link they sent me. course can't find the other one. but this one
says yellow jackets.

http://www.doyourownpestcontrol.com/...identification

any help i would appreciate. maybe you know which one i am talking about.
can't just be a michigan bee.
spunkie