Skip to main content
Back to Show
Deep Look

Meet the Meat Bee... the Western Yellowjacket!

Season 9 Episode 15

Why is that yellowjacket crashing your BBQ? Well, she wants what you're having: burgers, hot dogs, fish and turkey. But she doesn’t eat them herself. Her nest’s larvae need that protein to develop. So she carves up your dinner and makes teeny-tiny meatballs for them.

Support Provided By
Season
Beware of Flesh-Eating Sand Piranhas at the Beach
3:49
Excirolana chiltoni hang out in the wet sand at the beach and might nibble at your feet!
Lacewing LOVE is Noisier Than You Think
3:49
Green lacewings vibrate their bodies and sing to each other!
These Bees Hustle to Put Food on the Table
23:22
These bees are dedicated chefs! They make honey...and bread, bring you cherries, almonds and more!
How Sunflowers Bring All the Bees to the Yard
5:00
These plants spend their whole life getting in just the right position.
The Bizarre Biology of 5 Bloodsucking Creatures
19:31
Mosquitoes, ticks, lice, kissing bugs and tsetse flies are all looking to grab a bite ... of you.
This Mite-y Beetle Buries the Dead to Start a Family
4:32
Burying beetles haul mouse carcasses into the dirt and prep them to start a family.
Watch Salamanders Skydive!
3:47
Wandering salamanders can skydive in the branches of the tallest trees in the world.
Tar Pits Are a Death Trap. Except for This Fly.
4:45
The petroleum fly and their larvae thrive in the natural asphalt at the La Brea Tar Pits.
Watch This Starfish Protect Her Babies From Danger
5:15
Six-rayed sea stars make great moms, caressing and protecting their babies for months!
Fly Metamorphosis is a Beautiful Nightmare
4:12
House flies deploy a specialized organ called the ptilinum to break out of their pupa!
Stingless Bees Guard Tasty Honey With Barricades, Bouncers and Bites
6:15
Stingless bees don’t have stingers. So, how do they keep honey thieves away?
Meet the Bug You Didn't Know You Were Eating
5:16
After cochineals die, their legacy lives on in the brilliant red hue produced by their hemolymph!
Active loading indicator