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Photo#32968
Eastern Yellowjacket - Vespula maculifrons - female

Eastern Yellowjacket - Vespula maculifrons - Female
Auburn, Lee County, Alabama, USA
September 25, 2005
In noting Lynette Schimming's submission of today, I wanted to also post my image of what I believe is a Southern yellow jacket worker (Vespula squamosa). It is one of the better images I have obtained for this species. I do notice more than trivial variations in the markings on the pronotum and abdomen but presume this is within biological variation.

Moved to the correct page-Tony Thomas

Eastern Yellowjacket (Vespula maculifrons) worker
The image is very good indeed, one of the best of an V. maculifrons worker together with Mister Leung's photograph form last year,
But, you were right by thinking the variations your noticed were not trivial; they exceed the biological variation - which occurs in all yellowjacket species, true.
For example, a completely black mesoscutum, without the two longitudinal yellow stripes, excludes V. squamosa which always has them well developped.
Conversely, the broadly anchor-shaped black spot on the 1st abdominal tergite is typical for V. maculifrons. A V. squamosa worker's pattern is fairly similar at this place, but a continuous black line completely isolates the two yellow front spots. Moreover, two more front yellow spots occur on the second tergite also, which are lacking here.

 
Not a male
As Mr. Vernier established, this is a worker. All workers are female.

 
By the way...
Males of this common Eastern species are still missing in this Guide, although last fall Mrs Schimming took two photographs of a dying specimen most probably belonging to it (but not possible to confirm with absolute certainty at this angle).

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