WOODBURY — Far worse than our friendly local honeybees, yellowjackets have claimed their ground at Nonnewaug High School.
Although commonly confused with honeybees because of the black and yellow appearance, yellowjackets are far more aggressive with a stronger tolerance to conditions of the outdoors.
Yellowjackets pose a nuisance to people because of their drive for food. At an extremely fast pace, yellowjackets will locate and consume sweet or sugary items.
Whereas honeybees are docile around food, yellowjackets in their aggressive nature will sting and can sting more than once. People swatting or defending their food from yellowjackets have a high chance of getting stung because they are putting themselves between the insect and its target.
“Yellowjackets are always in my bubble outside,” said Chase Heidorn, a junior at Nonnewaug. “I wish that they knew boundaries when I am eating food.”
According to Heidorn, the outside cafeteria area is one of the main targets for the yellowjackets. However, a similar story develops across the school campus.
The agricultural mechanics class is working on its tractor tune-up projects while working around the yellow and black flying nuisances.
“My mechanics class was just swatting,” said teacher Andrew Zielinski. “Yellowjackets outside the shop were everywhere.”
After being exposed to yellowjackets, Zielinski’s luck unfortunately flew away.
“I had been stung by a yellowjacket in the shop,” said Zielinski. “The ironic thing is I wasn’t even swatting at them.”
Mason Pieger, a senior in the aquaculture program, deals with the yellowjackets on a daily basis due to the fact that the aquaculture classroom is so close to the mechanics classroom.
Pieger believes that the situation is not a problem but an opening to the insect-free season.
“The yellowjackets are at their worst right now preparing for winter,” said Pieger. “After the first frost, I won’t even have to think about them anymore.”
