| Gallery: Social wasps |  |
A most unfairly maligned group of interesting and beautiful animals. Several species are common in gardens and, with practice, they can be told apart.
Pictures
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This shot of a queen common wasp (Vespula vulgaris) shows the characteristic 'anchor' mark on the face (the clypeus) which is the best way of distinguishing this species from the equally common german wasp (Vespula germanica). This mark is similar to that on the face of the red wasp (Vespula rufa), but this species can be fairly easily distinguished by the colouration and markings on the abdomen.
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Sometimes queen wasps, like this common wasp (Vespula vulgaris), hibernate inside houses (for example in roof spaces). When they emerge in the spring you can help them by making sure that they find their way outside.
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Common wasp (Vespula vulgaris) on water ice plant (Sedum spectabile). This largish mid-september individual may well have been a new queen feeding up before hibernation.
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This common wasp (Vespula vulgaris) is showing nicely the characteristic abdomen markings of this species.
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This common wasp (Vespula vulgaris) could be identified as a queen because of its large size and the fact that I found it in Spring.
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Queen red wasp (Vespula rufa). This wasp gets its name from the slight russet colouration around the black markings on the upper abdominal segments. The Norwegian wasp (Dolichovespula norwegica) also has russet markings, but the pattern of black is very much more extensive in that species.
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This queen german wasp (Vespula germanica) has fairly unusual markings on the clypeus (yellow plate just above the madibles). Normally german wasps have three dots on the clypeus, but this one has two dots and a longer vertical mark. This longer black mark is similar in some ways to that found on the common wasp (Vespula vulgaris), but in this case the completely yellow gena (area on the side of the head just behind the eye) confirm this as a german wasp. (The common wasp has black markings on the gena.)
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Like all other social wasps, hornets (Vespa crabro) catch live prey and masticate it before feeding it to the developing larvae back at the nest. This one has caught another insect and is beginning the process of chewing it up.
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Tree wasp (Dolichovespula sylvestris) on water figwort (Scrophularia auriculata). Tree wasps seemed to be irresistibly drawn back to this water figwort in my garden pond over and over again.
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Tree wasp (Dolichovespula sylvestris) on hebe 'midsummer beauty'. Tree wasps seemed to be particularly common in my garden in the Summer of 2004.
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This tree wasp (Dolichovespula sylvestris) had apparently recently caught some prey and was busy chewing it and manipulating it. You can see in here (the small black mass) in front of the wasp.
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