Melted snowpack from the Sierra Nevada creates waterfalls in side canyons of the mountains, where tributaries of the major river systems drop over granite outcroppings as they enter river gorges. By mid to late simmer, these frigid waters are warming up just enough to provide the ideal respite from the summer sun. You can find Codfish Falls, Devils Falls, and Indian Creek Falls off the dirt roads around the canyon of the American River. Wasps and bees form swarms to protect ousted queens while they search for new spots to rebuild their hives. While they can sting without provocation, try not to be afraid.
Fear causes humans to produce phermones, which encourages the aggressive stinging.
Western yellow jackets display extremely advanced social patterns. The fertile queen overwinters, then emerges, first to lay and feed the brood, then to be attended by the emerging colony. She goes on to lay 300,000 or more eggs by summer's end. Workers process wood bits to create a light, strong paper-mache nest below ground. California black bears spend the summer preparing for the hibernation to come.