Santa Clara County's 100,000+ acres of parkland appear to be particularly suited for yellowjackets. The district is working with schools and parks to ease the nuisance of these stinging insects using several techniques. Due to their omnivorous habits, yellowjackets are attracted to picnics where they may show up in great numbers. School children may be pestered by these species during outside lunches. Standing or sitting near a yellowjacket nest can be dangerous too since they are aggressively defended. Unlike bees, yellowjackets don't loose their stinger at the bite. They can survive and continue to bite after.
The district currently assists Santa Clara County Parks in managing yellowjackets by destroying their nests.
From picture above right, the nest appears to be a simple hole in the ground or hidden within ground cover.
Below lie up to several thousand yellowjackets where the queen and workers tend to eggs, larvae and pupal yellowjackets.
Yellowjacket nest (left) / Queen and workers (right)