''Vespula'' is a small

genus Genus ( plural genera ) is a taxonomic rank used in the biological classification of living and fossil organisms as well as viruses. In the hierarchy of biological classification, genus comes above species and below family. In binomial n ...

social Social organisms, including human(s), live collectively in interacting populations. This interaction is considered social whether they are aware of it or not, and whether the exchange is voluntary or not. Etymology The word "social" derives from ...

wasp A wasp is any insect of the narrow-waisted suborder Apocrita of the order Hymenoptera which is neither a bee nor an ant; this excludes the broad-waisted sawflies (Symphyta), which look somewhat like wasps, but are in a separate suborder. Th ...

s, widely distributed in the Northern Hemisphere. Along with members of their

sister genus In phylogenetics, a sister group or sister taxon, also called an adelphotaxon, comprises the closest relative(s) of another given unit in an evolutionary tree. Definition The expression is most easily illustrated by a cladogram: Taxon A and t ...

'' Dolichovespula'', they are collectively known by the

common name In biology, a common name of a taxon or organism (also known as a vernacular name, English name, colloquial name, country name, popular name, or farmer's name) is a name that is based on the normal language of everyday life; and is often contra ...

yellowjacket Yellowjacket or yellowjacket is the common name in North America for predatory social wasps of the genus, genera ''Vespula'' and ''Dolichovespula''. Members of these genera are known simply as "wasps" in other English-speaking countries. Most of ...

s (or yellow jackets) in North America. ''Vespula'' species have a shorter oculomalar space (shown in the figure below right) and a more pronounced tendency to nest underground than ''Dolichovespula''.

Notable species

* While most species of this genus inhabit North America, four ''Vespula'' species inhabit Europe, namely ''V. austriaca, V. germanica, V. rufa'' and ''V. vulgaris'' * Two common European species, the

German wasp ''Vespula germanica'', the European wasp, German wasp, or German yellowjacket, is a species of wasp found in much of the Northern Hemisphere, native to Europe, Northern Africa, and temperate Asia. It has spread and become well-established in ma ...

(''Vespula germanica'') and the common wasp (''Vespula vulgaris''), have established in other countries: both species are now found in

New Zealand New Zealand ( mi, Aotearoa ) is an island country in the southwestern Pacific Ocean. It consists of two main landmasses—the North Island () and the South Island ()—and over 700 List of islands of New Zealand, smaller islands. It is the ...

, Australia and

South America South America is a continent entirely in the Western Hemisphere and mostly in the Southern Hemisphere, with a relatively small portion in the Northern Hemisphere at the northern tip of the continent. It can also be described as the souther ...

, while the former has also been introduced in North America, and the latter in southern

Africa Africa is the world's second-largest and second-most populous continent, after Asia in both cases. At about 30.3 million km2 (11.7 million square miles) including adjacent islands, it covers 6% of Earth's total surface area ...

. * The eastern yellowjacket (''Vespula maculifrons'') and western yellowjacket ('' Vespula pensylvanica'') are native to North America. Wasp morphology

Species

* ''

Vespula acadica ''Vespula acadica,'' also known as the Forest Yellowjacket, is a North American species of eusocial wasp which is part of the ''"rufa"'' group within the genus ''Vespula''. It is a black and yellow wasp that is found in arboreal areas and builds ...

'' (Sladen, 1918) – forest yellowjacket''Vespula''
BugGuide * '' Vespula alascensis'' Packard, 1870 – common yellowjacket * '' Vespula arisana'' (Sonan, 1929) * '' Vespula atropilosa'' (Sladen, 1918) – prairie yellowjacket * ''

Vespula austriaca ''Vespula austriaca'' is an obligate parasitic wasp, parasitizing the nests of other species in the genus '' Vespula'' in the Old World. Its common host species include '' V. rufa'' in Europe, Japan, and East Siberia.''V. austriaca ''wasps p ...

'' (Panzer, 1799) – red cuckoo wasp * '' Vespula consobrina'' (Saussure, 1854) – blackjacket * ''

Vespula flaviceps ''Vespula flaviceps'' is a species of social wasp in the genus '' Vespula''. It found in Eastern Asia and Japan. Studies have suggested that the queens of this species may mate with more males and use sperm more evenly. The reason for this is n ...

'' (Smith, 1870) * '' Vespula flavopilosa'' Jacobson, 1978 – downy yellowjacket * ''

Vespula germanica ''Vespula germanica'', the European wasp, German wasp, or German yellowjacket, is a species of wasp found in much of the Northern Hemisphere, native to Europe, Northern Africa, and temperate Asia. It has spread and become well-established in ma ...

'' (Fabricius, 1793) – German wasp, German yellowjacket * '' Vespula inexspectata'' Eck, 1991 * ''

Vespula infernalis ''Vespula infernalis'' is an obligate parasitic wasp, parasitizing the nests of other species in the genus ''Vespula''. Its common host species is '' V. acadica'' in North America. It is sometimes called the cuckoo yellowjacket wasp due to its ...

'' (Saussure, 1854) – cuckoo yellowjacket * ''

Vespula ingrica ''Vespula ingrica'', the grey yellowjacket, is a species of wasp A wasp is any insect of the narrow-waisted suborder Apocrita of the order Hymenoptera which is neither a bee nor an ant; this excludes the broad-waisted sawflies (Symphyta) ...

'' Birula, 1931 * '' Vespula intermedia'' ( Buysson, 1904–05) – northern red-banded yellowjacket * ''

Vespula kingdonwardi ''Vespula'' is a small genus of social wasps, widely distributed in the Northern Hemisphere. Along with members of their sister genus '' Dolichovespula'', they are collectively known by the common name yellowjackets (or yellow jackets) in No ...

'' Archer, 1981 * ''

Vespula koreensis ''Vespula'' is a small genus of social wasps, widely distributed in the Northern Hemisphere. Along with members of their sister genus ''Dolichovespula'', they are collectively known by the common name yellowjackets (or yellow jackets) in North A ...

'' (Rad., 1887) * ''

Vespula maculifrons The eastern yellow jacket or eastern yellowjacket (''Vespula maculifrons'') is a wasp found in eastern North America.Hoffman, Eric A., Kovacs, Jennifer L. and Goodisman, Michael A. D. (August 20, 2008). Genetic structure and breeding system in a ...

'' ( Buysson, 1905) – eastern yellowjacket * ''

Vespula nursei ''Vespula'' is a small genus of social wasps, widely distributed in the Northern Hemisphere. Along with members of their sister genus ''Dolichovespula'', they are collectively known by the common name yellowjackets (or yellow jackets) in North A ...

'' (Archer, 1981) * ''

Vespula orbata ''Vespula'' is a small genus of social wasps, widely distributed in the Northern Hemisphere. Along with members of their sister genus ''Dolichovespula'', they are collectively known by the common name yellowjackets (or yellow jackets) in North ...

'' ( Buysson 1902) * ''

Vespula orientalis ''Vespula'' is a small genus of social wasps, widely distributed in the Northern Hemisphere. Along with members of their sister genus ''Dolichovespula'', they are collectively known by the common name yellowjackets (or yellow jackets) in North ...

'' (Linnaeus, 1771) - oriental hornet * '' Vespula pensylvanica'' (Saussure, 1857) – western yellowjacket * '' Vespula rufa'' (Linnaeus, 1758) – red wasp * ''

Vespula rufosignata ''Vespula'' is a small genus of social wasps, widely distributed in the Northern Hemisphere. Along with members of their sister genus ''Dolichovespula'', they are collectively known by the common name yellowjackets (or yellow jackets) in North ...

'' (Eck, 1998) * ''

Vespula shidai ''Vespula'' is a small genus of social wasps, widely distributed in the Northern Hemisphere. Along with members of their sister genus ''Dolichovespula'', they are collectively known by the common name yellowjackets (or yellow jackets) in North ...

'' (Ish., Yam., Wagn., 1980) * '' Vespula squamosa'' (Drury, 1770) – southern yellowjacket * ''

Vespula structor ''Vespula structor'' is a species of wasp in the family Vespidae found in India, Nepal, Laos, Myanmar, China and Bhutan. References

Vespidae Insects described in 1870 {{vespidae-stub ...

'' (Smith, 1870) * ''

Vespula sulphurea ''Vespula sulphurea'', the California yellowjacket, is a species of wasp within the family Vespidae. It is found distributed in the Upper Sonoran Fauna of California, but has been known to occur in southern Oregon, western Nevada, southern Arizon ...

'' (Saussure, 1854) – California yellowjacket * ''

Vespula vidua ''Vespula vidua'', known generally as the long yellowjacket or widow yellowjacket, is a species of stinging wasp in the family Vespidae The Vespidae are a large (nearly 5000 species), diverse, cosmopolitan family of wasps, including nearly al ...

'' (Saussure, 1854) * ''

Vespula vulgaris ''Vespula vulgaris'', known as the Common wasp, is a species found in regions that include the United Kingdom, Ireland, Germany, India, China, New Zealand and Australia. It is sometimes known in English as the European wasp, but the same name is ...

'' (Linnaeus, 1758) – common wasp See also: *''

Paravespula ''Paravespula'' is a small subgenus of yellowjacket wasps, including some of the best-known wasp species in the world: the German wasp, ''Vespula germanica''; the eastern yellowjacket ''Vespula maculifrons''; the western yellowjacket ''Vespula p ...

'', a subgenus of ''Vespula''

Venom

The venom of ''Vespula'' is mostly composed of antigen 5,

hyaluronidase Hyaluronidases are a family of enzymes that catalyse the degradation of hyaluronic acid (HA). Karl Meyer classified these enzymes in 1971, into three distinct groups, a scheme based on the enzyme reaction products. The three main types of hyalu ...

, and

phospholipase A phospholipase is an enzyme that hydrolyzes phospholipids into fatty acids and other lipophilic substances. Acids trigger the release of bound calcium from cellular stores and the consequent increase in free cytosolic Ca2+, an essential step i ...

Immunology

There is a high degree of similarity between

immunogenic Immunogenicity is the ability of a foreign substance, such as an antigen, to provoke an immune response in the body of a human or other animal. It may be wanted or unwanted: * Wanted immunogenicity typically relates to vaccines, where the inject ...

fractions of different ''Vespula''e. Rabbit serum is unable to distinguish between them.

References

* Vespidae Taxa named by Carl Gustaf Thomson {{Vespidae-stub pl:Osa