This is a Bald-faced Hornet queen, Dolichovespula maculata, I believe. (That sounds like an Italian coffee drink, doesn't it?) It's actually a type of paper wasp and not a true hornet. Her kind are the builders of those familiar large oval lantern-like nests, constructed from chewed wood and plant fiber.
A fertilized female, or queen, is the only member of the hive to overwinter. The one pictured here on our deck may have been looking for soil or leaf litter in which to spend the winter.
