Identification, Images, & Information
For Insects, Spiders & Their Kin
For the United States & Canada
 

Register · Log In
HomeGuideID RequestRecentFrassForumsDonateHelp
Clickable Guide
Moths Butterflies Flies Caterpillars Flies Dragonflies Flies Mantids Cockroaches Bees and Wasps Walkingsticks Earwigs Ants Termites Hoppers and Kin Hoppers and Kin Beetles True Bugs Fleas Grasshoppers and Kin Ticks Spiders Scorpions Centipedes Millipedes

Calendar
BugGuide Gathering
Pack Forest
Washington State
July 10-12, 2009
Details...

Photos from the 2009 gathering
 
Photos from the 2008 gathering in Tennessee
 
Photos from the 2007 gathering in Minnesota

TaxonomyBrowseInfoImagesLinksBooksData
Home » Guide » Arthropods (Arthropoda) » Insects (Insecta) » Ants, Bees, Wasps and Sawflies (Hymenoptera) » Aculeata - Bees, Ants, and other Stinging Wasps » Ants, Stinging Wasps, and Hornets (Vespoidea) » Yellowjackets, Paper Wasps, and Hornets; Potter, Mason and Pollen Wasps (Vespidae) » Hornets and Yellowjackets (Vespinae) » Vespula » Eastern Yellowjacket (Vespula maculifrons)
Photo#324395
V. maculifrons nest - Vespula maculifrons
Copyright © 2009 Vespula vulgaris

V. maculifrons nest - Vespula maculifrons
Perry County, Pennsylvania, USA
August 15, 2009
Size: cantaloupe
The nest was dieing... I could tell. The traffic was decreasing, and on the 15th I found the nest box full of males. No females or female remains were found. I can only speculate that the queen died a while ago and the workers took over egg laying, resulting in all of these males. The nest is about the size of a cantaloupe, and in all I would say produced 60 or 70 males.
Perhaps this was the result of all the usurpations early on? I can only guess

Images of this individual: tag all
V. maculifrons queen on nest - Vespula maculifrons - female Young larvae and eggs - Vespula maculifrons - female Queen building nest - Vespula maculifrons - female Queen and nest - Vespula maculifrons - female Nest - Vespula maculifrons First pupae - Vespula maculifrons First workers - Vespula maculifrons - female Two more usurpation attempts - Vespula maculifrons - female The workers join in the fight - Vespula maculifrons - female 5th usurpation - Vespula maculifrons - female 5th usurpation - Vespula maculifrons - female V. maculifrons nest - Vespula maculifrons V. maculifrons nest - Vespula maculifrons V. maculifrons workers - Vespula maculifrons - female V. maculifrons nest - Vespula maculifrons V. maculifrons nest - Vespula maculifrons
tag · login or register to post comments
Contributed by Vespula vulgaris on 24 August, 2009 - 1:33pm

Very good effort!
Hey, I think it was remarkable that both you and the wasps stuck with it despite the setbacks. Bravo!
… Eric R. Eaton, 24 August, 2009 - 3:55pm login or register to post comments

 
i live in southern oregon..i
i live in southern oregon..i once had a nest of yellowjackets move into my bank in one day they began escavating into an old root that was rotted in midsummer and in 3 days they were moved in lock stock and barrel. i wastched them comming out of not one but 2 holes about 10 feet apart in the woods and moving 100 yds into the bank
why would they do that?
… shotguneddie, 24 August, 2009 - 5:32pm login or register to post comments

Comment viewing options
Select your preferred way to display the comments and click 'Save settings' to activate your changes.

Disclaimer: Dedicated naturalists volunteer their time and resources here to provide this service. We strive to provide accurate information, but we are mostly just amateurs attempting to make sense of a diverse natural world. If you need expert professional advice, contact your local extension office.

Contributors own the copyright to and are solely responsible for contributed content.
Click the contributor's name for licensing and usage information.
Everything else copyright © 2003-2009 Iowa State University, unless otherwise noted.

Bugguide is hosted by Iowa State University Entomology.

Printer Friendly Version 		Terms of Use
Privacy Policy
Site Map
Contact