A yellow jacket nest may contain up to how many individuals?

Yellow jacket nests can indeed reach substantial sizes, particularly during their peak season. The correct response indicates that a yellow jacket nest may house up to 20,000 individuals, which is significant. This number reflects the colony's ability to grow rapidly, reaching large populations as summer progresses.

As environmental conditions become favorable and food sources are abundant, the queen can produce a large number of workers, which in turn expands the nest size dramatically. This growth is crucial for the survival and proliferation of the species, especially as they prepare for winter or face changes in their environment.

The other figures represented by the options also reflect large populations but do not encompass the maximum known capacity of yellow jacket colonies. Understanding this maximum capacity is important for both pest management efforts and ecological studies related to yellow jackets and their role in the environment.