Bugs that look like ants with yellow stripes are actually called Neoclytus acuminatus or more commonly, red headed ash borers. They are not ants at all but beetles and have a fondness for dead or dying trees.
Some beetle woodborers look like ants, and termites have been mistaken for ants also. Neoclytus acuminatus (red headed woodborer) is most commonly thought to be an ant with yellow stripes.
