Knowledgebase
wasp concern #769942
Asked August 30, 2021, 6:17 PM EDT
Baltimore County Maryland
Expert Response
While we can't see enough detail in their body markings to identify them to species, we agree this appears to be an aggregation of two different wasp species. (At least one looks like a Polistes species of paper wasp, as an educated guess.) Many wasps that are not in the yellowjacket, hornet, or paper wasp groups are solitary, so perhaps one or two constructed a nest in this cabinet which has now had the adults hatch, since often multiple offspring are contained in each nest. Or, the paper wasp colony has recently produced males for the purposes of mating with new queens, which will disperse and start new colonies next year. (They won't re-use this nest after autumn frosts kill the workers off.) It's also possible that two different paper wasp colonies set-up camp in this cabinet; usually they are somewhat territorial, but if resources are plentiful they may not be very concerned about each other.
In either case, if you don't need urgent access to that cabinet, we recommend leaving them to their activities, and they will vacate in another month or so. While they tend not to be as defensive as yellowjacket wasps or hornets, the paper wasps could sting if their nest is disturbed. Solitary wasps won't sting to defend a nest, but could to defend themselves if they felt threatened. Wasps are great at consuming garden insects we consider pests, so are good to have around if they are leaving people and pets alone.
Miri
You're welcome.