I don’t have a picture because these guys won’t land! Somewhere under a small pine-like tree, little bees (smaller than honey bees) keep flying in and out from a nest in the ground. My wife was stung twice (simultaneously) while doing some yard work nearby.
Could these be hornets? I don’t know what hornets look like, and the pictures I’ve seen do not give me a feel for actual size. There is no tell-tale, typical hornet’s nest. But, what else could they be? [I should add it is too early for yellow jackets. They’re not in vogue yet! ]
I’d put my money on yellow jackets, actually. They are around all summer. They do good by eating other insects and keep to themselves, then in the late summer get a taste for sugar and become pests.
Until the autumn they are mild mannered and don’t bug you - UNLESS you get too close to their nest, which is often in the ground.
]