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Q&A – What are these wasps in our trees?

Question:
These bees (or wasps?) are swarming around all 8 of our Leyland Cypress Trees. Are these yellow jackets, or what? Will they sting? Why are they swarming our trees? I thought yellow jackets lived in the ground!

Answer:
These are parasitic tiphiid wasps. They are considered beneficial insects. They parasitize beetle larvae like May beetles, June beetles, and Japanese beetles. The female will sting the larva to paralyze it and then lay an egg. When the egg hatches the wasp larva will feed on the beetle larva. Only the female has a stinger.

Related Videos:
Beneficial Garden Bugs
Are the wasps on my corn beneficial?

Related Resources
Parasitoid Wasps (Hymenoptera)
Predatory Wasps
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  • Home
  • Watch
    • TV Schedule
    • Full Episodes Online
    • How-to and Informational
    • Questions and Answers
    • This Week in the Garden
    • Garden Notes
  • Garden Topic Collections
    • Apple Trees: How-to and Information
    • Peach Trees: How-to and Information
    • Tomatoes: How-to and Information
    • Square Foot Garden Blog
  • Resources
    • Soil Testing
    • Extension Publications
    • Gardening Resources
    • Blogs
    • Organic Gardening
    • Articles
    • Privacy
  • Guests
  • Contact Us
    • Ask a Gardening Gardening Question
  • Search