These are yellowjacket wasps...the larger, orange-toned one is a queen, and the smaller one is her male mate. Wasp nests produce reproductive males and females in late summer and autumn, which tend to be larger than their worker siblings. (In many cases, the coloration is similar between them as well, but Southern Yellowjacket queens happen to look more distinctive than their nestmates.) These reproductive colony  members mate, and the females fly off to find a spot to shelter by themselves for the winter, leaving to start a new nest of their own in spring. The males die soon after mating and do not overwinter. If you're curious, more information about social wasp behavior can be found in the page linked above.

Miri