Thank you Andy. We have a bunch of Fireweeds in the front yard that are just covered with every kind of bee and wasp you can imagine (well, almost every :)) It's funny, there are no real flowers on these weeds but they attract critters from all over, especially stingers! Something else is eating the leaves, probably a caterpillar, but I haven't seen the critter yet.
BTW, how can you tell if it's a male or female?

Unfortunately I don't know enough to give a proper answer to the gender question. I'd wait for somebody that knows wasps. Also, the ID is tentative, based on a visual match on my part. There is the chance I could be off. Hopefully somebody else will confirm or correct, comment, etc. Happy wasp hunting. :) Sounds like you have a lot of them there.