Do bears dig up and eat yellowjacket nests? Yes they do, I have video proof. I followed this bear around one evening while it dug up and ate two different yellowjacket wasp nests. I was not only lucky to be able to see it happen, I also got it on video.
The bear was walking through the woods, all of a sudden, it smelled something it was interested in. After combing the area, it found the opening to the underground nest, that is where the video starts.
As soon as it rolled the log over and started digging, the angry yellowjackets conducted an all out air attack. They swarmed and stung the bear, probably hundreds or more times. The bear keeps digging while shaking them off. It finds the nest full of yellowjacket larvae, swallows the nest whole, then runs off.
It slides and rolls down the hill to brush off the stings, then runs into the brush at the bottom of the hill and up the other side of the draw.
About 10 minutes later, I caught up with the bear again. It already found another yellowjacket nest. I was able to get that one on video too.