Whatever it is, it came back again - quietly - last night (10/2) and dug up the dirt I had filled into the original divot. The comb is (was?) about a foot down and this time the digging was more specific and right to the target without the generalized destruction of the first raid. The site is adjacent to a ground-level deck which is very near large floor-to-ceiling bedroom windows but no one, including the indoor cats, was awakened.

Except for deer, the animals you listed are all nocturnal. But the mostly likely bet is a raccoon, or possibly skunk. Did you actually see honeycomb? Yellowjackets, a type of wasp, will nest underground. Their nests are made from wood fiber chewed into a paper-like pulp. The animal that is doing the digging may be after the wasp larvae rather than honeycomb.

Yes, honeycomb was scattered across the deck after the 1st visit (not much left for 2nd visit) and there have been bees coming and going from the hole that had been hidden in the garden all summer. After the nest was dug up the bees were frantically zooming around the crater.

Haven't been aware of skunks here but we do have regular visits from a raccoon family so maybe they just noticed the nest.

Yes, then I'd say the raccoons were the culprits in this case.