Yellow jacket is the most usual name for social wasps in our country… Yellow jackets are known as wasps in other countries, but the traditional yellow jacket is noticeable by the pattern of black plus yellow on the abdomen of the wasp. They have entirely distinctive markings plus tend to be found only in colonies. Female yellow jackets have a powerful sting. Yellow jackets are essentially in the same category as hornets plus other wasps, but they are commonly referred to as bees. Bees plus wasps are not in the same family. They do share some of the same characteristics, but they are as different as night plus afternoon pretty much. Yellow jackets have sharp stingers that have tiny barbs. They sting repeatedly unless their prey is no longer moving. Yellow Jackets are unbelievable for keeping away other pests, but they can be a nuisance to humans plus pets! My pet has been stung by a yellow jacket on more than a single occasion. They like to rest in the sod plus then they sting the pet when she walks by! I had to call a wasp plus yellow jacket removal company a few months ago when I discovered a giant yellow jacket nest near the roof of the household. The yellow jackets were swarming on the home plus they were all over the tree as well. It looked like a huge job, so I decided to call the extermination company instead of trying to remove the nest on my own. The experts came dressed in beekeeper uniforms so they would not actually feel any stings.