meat bee
n.— «In Central Oregon, the two main problem species are the Western yellow jacket (Vespula pensylvanica) and the common yellow jacket (Vespula vulgaris). They are commonly referred to as “meat bees,” Bissell said. They aren’t in the same family as the honey bee, he said, and shouldn’t be confused with wasps that build paper, open-celled nests.» —“Yellow jackets” by Leon Pantenburg The Buletin (Bend, Oregon) Sept. 9, 2008. (source: Double-Tongued Dictionary)
Further reading
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This was a very common term growing up in the foothills of the Sierra Nevada in Central California. I was told it had to do with their carnivorous tendencies. They loved carcasses of dead animals or spoiled food. They had a nasty sting but could also bite if they were agitated enough.