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Photo#144135
Vespula pensylvanica 02b - Vespula pensylvanica - male

Vespula pensylvanica 02b - Vespula pensylvanica - Male
Republic, Ferry County, Washington, USA
September 8, 2007
Photographed in Republic, 30 miles south of the Canadian Border, 150 Miles east of the Cascade Mountains, and at 2100 ft in elevation.

Images of this individual: tag all
Vespula pensylvanica 02a - Vespula pensylvanica - male Vespula pensylvanica 02b - Vespula pensylvanica - male

Moved

V. pensylvanica?
I'm not convinced that this is not a Vespula pensylvanica male. We might even have more than one specimen here?

 
They are the same
This is the same individual. I only found one specimen and captured/photographed it in a 35 count card box. The differences are probably due to my adjusting the pictures o compensate for yellow lighting.

 
Doesent V. pensylvanica
have a ring around the eye? Or is there an ecception with males?

 
There are exceptions among males....
And even among workers in some Northern populations of the species. I agree with Eric this one is a (dark) Vespula pensylvanica male.
First, rounded shape of pronotum does not fit with Dolichovespula: anterior keel is missing.
Second, flattened shape of the last urotergite is typical of males of the vulgaris group of Vespula (the Paravespula genus of old European litterature).
I admit that color pattern of this specimen is quite misleading, being virtually identical to an "average" D. arenaria. But these two distantly related species form a "muellerian" group, i.e. they mimick each other.

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