Yellowjacket queen
Our last snowfall was heavy and probably disturbed the hibernating places of many creatures. I suspect this yellowjacket queen was among those unfortunate enough to have been awakened prematurely. I found her huddled up against a pot out on our deck. It was very cold and she could barely move. Seeing as it was late in the evening and would only get colder at night, I decided to bring her in since she didn't have a suitably cozy hiding spot. I kept her in the same room that our slugs live in which was cool enough that she wouldn't get too active overnight. By noon the next day, she had had quite enough of the container I was keeping her in and wanted out. Luckily, it was unexpectedly sunny and warm, so I thought there was a good chance she could find a new place to wait out the rest of the winter. After crawling around on my hand for a several minutes and snacking quickly on a piece of apple, she flew off. Focus stacked from 7 shots taken with a 28mm prime lens reversed on a short extension tube.