Yellowjacket or yellow jacket is the common name in North America for predatory social wasps of the genera Vespula and Dolichovespula. Members of these genera are known simply as "wasps" in other English-speaking countries. Most of these are black and yellow like the eastern yellowjacket and the aerial yellowjacket ; some are black and white like the bald-faced hornet. Others may have the abdomen background color red instead of black. They can be identified by their distinctive markings, their occurrence only in colonies, and a characteristic, rapid, side-to-side flight pattern prior to landing. All females are capable of stinging. Yellowjackets are important predators of pest insects.
Paper wasps are vespid wasps that gather fibers from dead wood and plant stems, which they mix with saliva, and use to construct nests made of gray or brown papery material. Some types of paper wasps are also sometimes called umbrella wasps, due to the distinctive design of their nests.
The European paper wasp is one of the most common and well-known species of social wasps in the genus Polistes. Its diet is more diverse than those of most Polistes species—many genera of insects versus mainly caterpillars in other Polistes—giving it superior survivability compared to other wasp species during a shortage of resources.
The Stenogastrinae are a subfamily of social wasps included in the family Vespidae. They are sometimes called hover wasps owing to the particular hovering flight of some species. Their morphology and biology present interesting peculiarities.
Polistes fuscatus, whose common name is the dark or northern paper wasp, is widely found in eastern North America, from southern Canada through the southern United States. It often nests around human development. However, it greatly prefers areas in which wood is readily available for use as nest material, therefore they are also found near and in woodlands and savannas. P. fuscatus is a social wasp that is part of a complex society based around a single dominant foundress along with other cofoundresses and a dominance hierarchy.
Belonogaster juncea juncea is a subspecies of Belonogaster juncea and is classified as a primitively eusocial wasp, meaning that the species is social while exhibiting a morphology that is indistinguishable from that of other castes. It is also classified as a type of African Paper Wasp. Many of the studies relating specifically to B. j. juncea take place at the University of Yaoundé in Cameroon.
Polistes nimpha is a eusocial paper wasp found all over Europe, with particular sightings in Turkey, Finland, Estonia, and Latvia. It is also found in northern Africa, Pakistan, Iran, India, Kazakhstan, Mongolia, and China. The climate in these areas is relatively cold and snowy in the winter, while summers are usually hot and dry, with steppe vegetation. Polistes nimpha colonies are relatively small and easily manipulated.
Liostenogaster flavolineata is an insect that belongs to the wasp family Vespidae. This hairy-faced hover wasp species is predominantly found in South Asian rain forests, especially in Malaysia. Individual colonies of this species are very small, but aggregations of nests allow for interactions between many smaller colonies. Some worker wasps, known as "helpers", will move between multiple nests in an attempt to improve their position in the dominance hierarchy. Its nests are pale-colored and are usually built with mud. Liostenogaster flavolineata is one of the most studied species in the Stenogastrinae.
Parischnogaster mellyi is a medium-sized species of a hover wasp in the family Vespidae. It is found in Southeast Asia and is widely spread in Thailand and Malaysia. Its nests feature flexible and dynamic qualities, and they are commonly seen under roofs of houses and huts in rural areas. Hovering and patrolling behaviors are the species’ main defining behavioral features, and such activities are closely linked to its mating patterns.
Polistes semenowi is a species of paper wasp in the genus Polistes that is found in southeastern and southern central Europe, as well as central Asia, and was until 2017 erroneously known by the name Polistes sulcifer, while a different species was incorrectly believed to represent P. semenowi. It is one of only four known Polistes obligate social parasites, sometimes referred to as "cuckoo paper wasps", and its host is the congeneric species Polistes dominula. As an obligate social parasite, this species has lost the ability to build nests, and relies on the host workers to raise its brood. P. semenowi females use brute force, followed by chemical mimicry in order to successfully usurp a host nest and take over as the queen.
Ropalidia revolutionalis, the stick-nest brown paper wasp, is a diurnal social wasp of the family Vespidae. They are known for the distinctive combs they make for their nests, and they are mostly found in Queensland, Australia in the areas of Brisbane and Townsville. They are an independent founding wasp species, and they build new nests each spring. They can be helpful because they control insect pests in gardens.
The Black hover wasp, Parischnogaster alternata, is a eusocial wasp in the genus Parischnogaster. It is native to South-East Asia, and builds its nests in cavities located in dark and damp locations. The nests of Black hover wasps are often found in clusters, which serves as a passive defense mechanism against predators. The annual colony cycle begins with nest initiation by a single foundress though colonies typically consist of 2-3 associative females and helpers that aid in brood development, nest construction, and colony defense. Indicative of the name, female P. alternata are known to strategically hover near nests when visiting other colonies before landing. These intrusions produce responses ranging from aerial fighting to cooperative food sharing.
Parischnogaster nigricans serrei is a hover wasp subspecies in the family Vespidae, and it is predominantly found in the Java region of Indonesia. Its nest cells are of conical structure, linearly attached to a string-like substratum. The nests are typically found in places open to human interactions, such as gardens, trees, or forests around villages. There is a clear dominance hierarchy within colonies, which often affects the behavioral activities of its members. The wasp’s most common predators are Vespa tropica, also known as the great banded hornet. P. nigricans serrei defends itself by flying away or giving out alarm calls.
Polistes japonicus is a eusocial paper wasp found in Japan. It was first described by Henri Louis Frédéric de Saussure in 1858. It is closely related to Polistes formosanus. This species lives in small colonies with few workers and a foundress queen. Nests of these wasps are sometimes used as a traditional medicine in Korea, China, and Japan.
Mischocyttarus flavitarsis is a social paper wasp found in western North America. Their nests can be found both in forests close to rivers or in close proximity to human life under the eaves of roofs. Despite the fact that M. flavitarsis nests are frequently in close contact with humans, M. flavitarsis typically will not sting, but rather ram into the threatening individual. Their colony cycle typically begins before May and will last until October. The queen will then seek a hibernation site for the winter. Perched near female hibernation sites are males with whom the female will mate. The males have claimed their territory by rubbing sternal brushes along the border of the site, leaving a chemical that deters other individuals from approaching. M. flavitarsis feed on arthropods, nectar, and animal carcasses and are often prey to birds, ants, and praying mantis.
Parachartergus fraternus is a neotropical, swarm founding, polistine wasp species that is distributed throughout Central and South America. They live in nests in second growth tropical dry forests, near pasture fields, roadside areas, and urban areas as well. These wasps eat insects, such as caterpillars of Lepidoptera. They also drink nectar, honeydew, and water. The workers capture their prey during foraging. They also use venom to paralyze their prey in order to consume it later. P. fraternus wasps are not very aggressive and they do not attack when the nest is approached.
Parischnogaster striatula is a species of social hover wasps found in Southeast Asia. Their nests are uniquely shaped, mimic their surroundings and, like the other Stenogastrinae social wasps, lack a nest pedicel. They are also unique in their use of glandular secretion when laying eggs. P. striatula is also different than typical wasps because the queens are not the only ones who possess reproductive capabilities; other females also have developed ovaries. This wasp is also known for fiercely protecting its nest against enemies, such as ants or other hornets.
Polistes erythrocephalus is a species of paper wasp in the subfamily Polistinae of family Vespidae found in Central and South America. P. erythrocephalus is a eusocial wasp, meaning that it possesses both reproductive and non-reproductive castes. The cooperation between the two castes to raise young demonstrates the altruistic nature of these wasps. P. erythrocephalus exhibits a four-stage colony cycle, as do many other Polistes wasps. This species generally feeds on larvae, occasionally their own, and is preyed upon by species such as army ants.
Parischnogaster jacobsoni is a species of social wasp within Parischnogaster, the largest and least known genus of Stenogastrinae. It is distinguished mainly by its tendency to construct ant guards on its nests. Natural selection has led this wasp to have a thick substance emitted from its abdominal glands that allows it to protect its nest from invasions. Parischnogaster as a genus has been relatively unstudied; P. jacobsoni is one of the few investigated species because it has sufficient durability to live near human populations and it has demonstrated unusual resilience to pollution. While P. jacobsoni is a more complex organism than other wasps in Parischnogaster, the genus overall is relatively primitive with respect to social wasps as a whole.
Liostenogaster is a genus of hover wasps from the subfamily Stenogastrinae of the family Vespidae which has a distribution centred on south-east Asia. It was named by the Dutch entomologist Jacobus van der Vecht from material collected by Japanese scientists on an expedition to Thailand, Malaysia and Cambodia which took place in 1966.
