Identification, Images, & Information
For Insects, Spiders & Their Kin
For the United States & Canada
Home » Guide » Arthropods (Arthropoda) » Hexapods (Hexapoda) » Insects (Insecta) » Ants, Bees, Wasps and Sawflies (Hymenoptera) » Aculeata - Ants, Bees and Stinging Wasps » Vespoidea » Hornets, Yellowjackets; Paper, Potter, Mason, and Pollen Wasps; and Allies (Vespidae) » Hornets and Yellowjackets (Vespinae) » Aerial Yellowjackets (Dolichovespula)

Genus Dolichovespula - Aerial Yellowjackets

Yellowjacket - Dolichovespula arenaria - female Common Aerial Yellowjacket - Dolichovespula arenaria Which wasp is this? - Dolichovespula arenaria Hornet - Dolichovespula maculata Hornet? - Dolichovespula arctica Bald-faced Hornet - Dolichovespula maculata - female hornet nest - Dolichovespula Vespinae - Dolichovespula arctica
Classification
Kingdom Animalia (Animals)
Phylum Arthropoda (Arthropods)
Subphylum Hexapoda (Hexapods)
Class Insecta (Insects)
Order Hymenoptera (Ants, Bees, Wasps and Sawflies)
No Taxon (Aculeata - Ants, Bees and Stinging Wasps)
Superfamily Vespoidea
Family Vespidae (Hornets, Yellowjackets; Paper, Potter, Mason, and Pollen Wasps; and Allies)
Subfamily Vespinae (Hornets and Yellowjackets)
Genus Dolichovespula (Aerial Yellowjackets)
Synonyms and other taxonomic changes
In the older literature the genus was either treated as a subgenus of Vespula or its species were included in the genus Vespula
Numbers
6 spp. in our area, 18 total(1)
Identification
The oculo-malar space of the face is longer than in Vespula (dolikhos = "long" in Greek)
vs

Keys to species:
Key to the five eastern spp.(1)
Key by Tony Thomas (2005)
Life Cycle
nests usually aerial
Works Cited
1.Identification Atlas of the Vespidae (Hymenoptera, Aculeata) of the Northeastern Nearctic Region
Matthias Buck, Stephen A. Marshall, and David K. B. Cheung. 2008. Biological Survey of Canada [Canadian Journal of Arthropod Identification].
Contributed by Beatriz Moisset on 15 March, 2005 - 10:16am
Additional contributions by Tony-2, Matthias Buck, v belov, PaleoJon
Last updated 20 April, 2023 - 6:24pm

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 © 2003-2024 Iowa State University, unless otherwise noted.

Bugguide is hosted by:

Plant Pathology, Entomology and Microbiology at Iowa State University logo