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Photo#35312
Western Yellowjacket? - Vespula pensylvanica

Western Yellowjacket? - Vespula pensylvanica
Larimer County, Colorado, USA
September 13, 2005
This marks only about the fourth yellowjacket specimen I've seen all year. There has been no shortage of paper wasps though...

Interesting information
Here in western Switzerland too, there has been a dramatic shortage of yellowjackets - and of the hornet - this year, as I never saw before. As a consequence, Polistes dominulus and (to a lesser degree) Polistes nimphus were the only common social wasps left.
The more or less marked scarcity of foundresses of Vespa, Vespula and Dolichovespula next spring will tell how long it will take to recover, if ever...

Nice shot
showing diagnostic continuous yellow ring around the eyes and the diamond shaped black mark on tergum 1.
Moved it to page

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