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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 » Hornets, Yellowjackets; Paper, Potter, Mason, and Pollen Wasps; and Allies (Vespidae) » Hornets and Yellowjackets (Vespinae) » Aerial Yellowjackets (Dolichovespula) » unidentified nests (Dolichovespula unidentified nests)

Photo#147941

Copyright © 2007 Kildale

Nest to ID if possible. - Dolichovespula

Victoria, British Columbia, Canada
April 26, 2006

Would appreciate knowing who builds nests like this one. I didn't see any wasps around as it was probably an old one taken in April. It was not very large.

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Contributed by Kildale on 24 September, 2007 - 4:27pm
Last updated 23 December, 2016 - 9:56am

Moved

Moved from Dolichovespula.

… Matthias Buck, 23 December, 2016 - 9:56am

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A so-called Yellowjacket "Queen-nest"

Built by the lone foundress in spring. This one was abandoned before the first workers emerge and the colony would start, a fate most of these queen-nests know since most foundresses die accidentally or by bird predation.
The paper IS grey rather than tan, and anyway many foundresses of vulgaris and related species build queen-nests with predominantly grey envelopes. More important, the nest is aerial in an open location, hence this is almost certainly one of a Dolichovespula species (Moreover, Vespula foundresses rarely, if ever, build such a "bottleneck" at the - lower - entrance).
An ID to the species level is not possible without knowing exactly the size, namely the breadth of paper stripes of different colors. D. maculata, according to its large size, makes much broader ones than D. arenaria.

… Richard Vernier, 25 September, 2007 - 2:56am

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Nest ID

Thank you both for all this information. I appreciate it very much.

… Kildale, 25 September, 2007 - 10:28am

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Probably

vespula vulgaris...dont know which yellowjacket realy. A dolichovespula nest would be grey.
It looks like the photo was taken early in spring..was it?

… vulgaris, 24 September, 2007 - 5:51pm

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This is an early nest of Dolichovespula Maculata

you can tell by the size of the paper strips used by the queen. They are thicker in D.maculata and thinner in D.arenaria a sympatric species. Note also it would seem that the queen was ready to add the "tube" another characterisic of early D.Maculata nests

… Anthony Daglio, 22 April, 2012 - 2:44pm

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