On Wed, 13 Feb 2002, Leland Hubbell wrote:

> We have had several days so far this winter (and this year) when bees
> could clean out.
> I had occasion to open an electrical octagon box today, and it was full
> of yellow jackets, very much alive! It was under 40 deg F. so they
> didn't go far. The box serves a light about 12 feet in the air on a
> pole, so it is not protected.
====================

Are you SURE they are "yellow jackets" (_Vespula sp._)?  Sounds more like
a winter aggregation of paper wasps (_Polistes sp._).  Yellow jackets are
supposed to die out over winter except for solitary queens which
overwinter in protected places.  Papers wasps overwinter in aggregations
of siblings.

Cheers,
Dave Pehling
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