Yellowjackets and their Relations
• Kingdom: Animalia Phylum: Arthropoda Class: Insecta Order: Hymenoptera Family: Vespidae Subfamily: Vespinae, (and Polistinae) Genus: Vespula or Dolichovespula
Polistinae vs. Vespinae
Identification by Patterns
Social Behavior!
Division of Labor!
Parental Care…
Behavioral Studies
Seasonal Cycle
Embryo Nest
Mature Colony
Home Sweet Home !
In “Nature”
Abernathy Creek
Dolichovespula norvegicoides!!
Huge nest, small “colony”…
Small nest, large colony
Seasonal Cycle
Vespula acadica
Vespula pensylvanica
a.k.a. “Western yellowjacket”
Vespula vulgaris
Dolichovespula arenaria (aerial?!)
D. arenaria – paper is exposed…
Beneath the carton…
1986… a fresh start!
Vespula germanica
Vespa crabro… a “hornet”!
Some odd locations…
Bird house?? Warm day!
Living room window (outside!)
Social Parasitism
No worker class… make slaves of their host species!
Dolichovespula arctica (with D. arenaria)
Vespula austriaca (with Vepula rufa group species)
Social Parasitism
V. vulgaris usurped by V. pensylvanica
“Common” replacement by “Western”
YJs as “Beneficials”… predatory
To Bait or Search… ??
Collecting a ground colony
“Hornets”