Body is black and yellow. The first antennal segment is yellow at the end.
Nests usually are built in subterranean cavities, but occasionally in walls of buildings. Nests may contain nearly 4,000 workers when the colony is at its peak.
Habits. The workers of this yellowjacket prey on spiders, distribution grasshoppers, and flies. Periodic outbreaks occur every three to five years, following a warm and relatively dry period in spring. Cloudy, wet weather in spring limits the food available for
founding queens, and the number of successful nests decreases. Following a relatively warm, dry spring, there may be an increase in the number of successful colonies, and in late summer and fall, the workers can be a nuisance around buildings and recreation areas.