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Photo#9664
unidentified yellowjacket - Vespula vidua

unidentified yellowjacket - Vespula vidua
Springfield, Virginia, USA
August 10, 2004
A yellowjacket species, but I'm not sure which one and I'm not familiar with its particular abdominal pattern. Any help identifying is appreciated.

Widow Yellowjacket?
This reminds me of the photo I submitted earlier which Eric suggested may be V. vidua. This page and these drawings of yellowjacket abdomens show V. vidua having two yellow spots on the first abdominal segment, followed by a thin yellow line, and a large black area plus another thin yellow line on the second abdominal segment -- all of which match both of our photos. V. vidua has no common name, so I made up "Widow" based on the Latin meaning of vidua.

 
Vespula vidua
It looks like it could be a match! Thanks, Robin. The drawings of the yellowjacket abdomens is a useful resource.

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