Yellowjacket

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(Redirected from Vespinae)

This article is about the wasp. For the comic book characters, see Yellowjacket (comics). For the jazz fusion band, see Yellowjackets.

iYellowjacket

Image:Wasp.jpg

A European wasp

Scientific classification

Kingdom:	Animalia
Phylum:	Arthropoda
Class:	Insecta
Superorder:	Endopterygota
Order:	Hymenoptera
Family:	Vespidae
Subfamily:	Vespinae
Genus:	Vespula or Dolichovespula'

Yellowjackets are black-and-yellow wasps of the genus Vespula or Dolichovespula (some can be black-and-white, the most notable of these being the bald-faced hornet, Dolichovespula maculata). They can be identified by their distinctive combination of black-and-yellow color, small size (slightly larger than a bee), and entirely black antennae.

1 Lifecycle
2 Notable Species
3 Nest
4 Gallery
5 See also

[edit] Lifecycle

Like some other vespids, they live in colonies and build globular paper nests. Workers are around 12-20 mm in length, depending on species, and feed on nectar, while collecting other foods (primarily arthropods) for their larvae. They can and will sting repeatedly, especially when trapped in clothing, because their stingers don't have barbs. They will sting without apparent provocation, and so can be major pests. They will sting in order to defend their nest. In autumn, they switch from collecting arthropods and nectar to scavenging other food sources, which can increase their contact with people.

[edit] Notable Species

European yellowjackets (the German wasp, Vespula germanica and the common wasp, Vespula vulgaris) were originally native to Europe, but are now established in North America, southern Africa, New Zealand, and eastern Australia.

Bald-faced hornets, Dolichovespula maculata, belong among the yellowjackets rather than the true hornets, but are not usually considered yellowjackets because of their ivory-on-black coloration.

[edit] Nest

Dolichovespula species (for example the aerial yellowjacket Dolichovespula arenaria and the bald-faced hornet, Dolichovespula maculata) tend to create exposed aerial nests (a feature shared with true hornets, which has led to some confusion as to the use of the name "hornet").
Vespula species, in contrast, build concealed nests, usually underground.

Yellowjacket nests usually last for only one season, dying off in winter. The nest is started by a single queen, called the foundress, and typically can reach the size of a basketball by the end of the season^{[citation needed]}. In parts of Australia , New Zealand, the Pacific Islands and southwestern coastal areas of the United States, the winters are mild enough to allow nest overwintering. Nests that survive multiple seasons become massive and often possess multiple egg-laying queens[1].