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Home » Guide » Arthropods (Arthropoda) » Hexapods (Hexapoda) » Insects (Insecta) » Ants, Bees, Wasps and Sawflies (Hymenoptera) » Aculeata - Ants, Bees and Stinging Wasps » Yellowjackets and Hornets, Paper Wasps; Potter, Mason and Pollen Wasps and allies (Vespoidea) » Yellowjackets and Hornets, Paper Wasps; Potter, Mason and Pollen Wasps (Vespidae) » Hornets and Yellowjackets (Vespinae) » Dolichovespula » Bald-faced Hornet (Dolichovespula maculata)

Species Dolichovespula maculata - Bald-faced Hornet

Classification · Other Common Names · Explanation of Names · Size · Identification · Range · Habitat · Season · Food · Life Cycle · Remarks · See Also · Internet References · Works Cited

Wasp predator and prey - Dolichovespula maculata

Bald-faced Hornet - Dolichovespula maculata

White Faced Hornet? - Dolichovespula maculata

Dolichovespula maculata queen on tiny nest - Dolichovespula maculata - female

Unknown #2 - Dolichovespula maculata - 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 (Yellowjackets and Hornets, Paper Wasps; Potter, Mason and Pollen Wasps and allies)

Family Vespidae (Yellowjackets and Hornets, Paper Wasps; Potter, Mason and Pollen Wasps)

Subfamily Vespinae (Hornets and Yellowjackets)

Genus Dolichovespula

Species maculata (Bald-faced Hornet)

Other Common Names

White-faced Hornet

Explanation of Names

Dolichovespula maculata (Linnaeus 1763)

Size

workers 12-14 mm, queens 18-20 mm(1)

Identification

Black with white markings on the head, thorax, and the last few segments of the abdomen (male with white on the first abdominal segment)(1). Wings smoky.

A large black and white yellowjacket with brown eyes (A). The 1st 3 terga are usually entirely black (J, N). Recognizable as a Dolichovespula by the large gap between the mandible and eye (oculo-malar space) (B)

Variation: Queens (C) and workers (D) may have lateral pale spots on the 3rd abdominal segment, and, rarely, isolated white spots on the 3rd tergite (Fig. E). Males may have a pale band on the posterior end of the 1st tergite and pale stripes on the posterior end of the 3rd (F)

The pale lateral stripe on the pronotum of the thorax can vary from relatively narrow (G) to broad (H, H1).

Sexual dimorphism: Males have long antennae with 13 segments; females (queens and workers), 12. Males have a 7-segmented abdomen with white patches on segments 4-7. Female abdomen is 6-segmented with white dorsal patches on 4-6 (I). Queens are larger than workers and males (J).

Queens: A, C, E, H, H1

Workers: D, G, and

Males: B, F, and

Range

Throughout North America(2), except the dry Midwest.

Habitat

Nests above ground in trees, bushes, and other protected places. Nests are large, oval nests (when mature), with entrance low down on the side (K). However, the beginning nest by the queen is globular with the entrance at the bottom (L).

Season

Fertilized queens overwinter, workers present from spring through late fall, new queens and males produced late summer/fall. It is possible that colonies are active all year in the deep south.

Food

Adults are common on flowers (1)(D-G, I) and take nectar; adults feed pre-chewed insects to larvae(2). Also are carnivorous and eat fruit:

Life Cycle (1)

A fertilized queen overwinters and starts a paper enclosed nest in the Spring. As the colony grows, multiple tiers are added, consisting of hexagonal cells. Males appear in the fall.

Remarks

Similar species: D. albida, D. arctica, and Vespula consobrina are basically black and white and can be confused with D. maculata; in the latter, tergite 2 is all black (N), while in the other 3 spp. there is a pale apical band.

See Also

Spilomyia fusca (Diptera: Syrphidae) is a mimic:

Internet References

Species page(3)

Species profile (Painter et al.)

Fact sheet (Jacobs 2015)

Works Cited

1.	American Insects: A Handbook of the Insects of America North of Mexico Ross H. Arnett. 2000. CRC Press.

2.	National Audubon Society Field Guide to Insects and Spiders Lorus and Margery Milne. 1980. Knopf.

3.	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 Troy Bartlett on 22 March, 2004 - 9:18pm
Additional contributions by cotinis, Beatriz Moisset, Tony-2, Matthias Buck, Bbarnd, Ben Coulter, v belov
Last updated 31 July, 2017 - 7:59pm

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