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Home » Guide » Arthropods (Arthropoda) » Hexapods (Hexapoda) » Insects (Insecta) » Ants, Bees, Wasps and Sawflies (Hymenoptera) » Aculeata - Ants, Bees and Stinging Wasps » Vespoidea » Vespidae » Hornets and Yellowjackets (Vespinae) » Aerial Yellowjackets (Dolichovespula) » Common Aerial Yellowjacket (Dolichovespula arenaria)

Species Dolichovespula arenaria - Common Aerial Yellowjacket

Classification · Other Common Names · Explanation of Names · Identification · Range · Habitat · Season · Food · Remarks · Internet References · Works Cited
Common Aerial Yellowjacket - Dolichovespula arenaria Common Aerial Yellowjacket - Dolichovespula arenaria Vespula sp - Dolichovespula arenaria - female Aerial Yellowjacket Nest Removed From Bush. - Dolichovespula arenaria Dolichovespula arenaria ? - Dolichovespula arenaria Vespidae - Dolichovespula arenaria Dolichovespula arenaria? - Dolichovespula arenaria - female Wasp pollinating Epipactis helleborine - Dolichovespula arenaria - female
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
Subfamily Vespinae (Hornets and Yellowjackets)
Genus Dolichovespula (Aerial Yellowjackets)
Species arenaria (Common Aerial Yellowjacket)
Other Common Names
Sandhills Aerial Yellowjacket
Sandhills Yellowjacket
Sandhills Hornet
Common Yellow Hornet
Explanation of Names
Dolichovespula arenaria (Fabricius, 1775)
Identification
   
Queen (♀♀) Worker (♀) Male (♂)
Range
abundant throughout boreal NA(1)
From north central Alaska to as far south as New Mexico and Arizona.
Habitat
Arboreal to subterranean habitats.
Season
may begin nest building as early as March in California
Food
Arthropods: grasshoppers, crickets, caterpillars, spiders, flies, lacewings, and even lady beetles (avoided by other wasps). Also fall webworm. Sometimes carcasses of vertebrates.
Remarks
They have mostly aerial nests, from a few centimeters above ground to the tops or trees, or houses or sheds. But in some cases they build nests under rocks or even underground.
Internet References
Species page(2)
Wikipedia
Works Cited
1.The Vespinae of North America (Vespidae, Hymenoptera)
L.S. Kimsey and J.M. Carpenter. 2012. Journal of Hymenoptera Research Vol. 28: 37–65.
2.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 - 10:18am
Additional contributions by Hannah Nendick-Mason, Robin McLeod, Tony-2, Matthias Buck, v belov, PaleoJon
Last updated 25 April, 2023 - 12:11am

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