A nest is a structure built for certain animals to hold eggs or young. Although nests are most closely associated with birds, members of all classes of vertebrates and some invertebrates construct nests. They may be composed of organic material such as twigs, grass, and leaves, or may be a simple depression in the ground, or a hole in a rock, tree, or building. Human-made materials, such as string, plastic, cloth, or paper, may also be used. Nests can be found in all types of habitat.
Hornets are the largest of the eusocial wasps, and are similar in appearance to their close relatives yellowjackets. Some species can reach up to 5.5 cm (2.2 in) in length. They are distinguished from other vespine wasps by the relatively large top margin of the head. Worldwide, 22 species of Vespa are recognized. Most species only occur in the tropics of Asia, though the European hornet, is widely distributed throughout Europe, Russia, North America, and north-eastern Asia. Wasps native to North America in the genus Dolichovespula are commonly referred to as hornets, but are actually yellowjackets.
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 Vespula maculifrons and the aerial yellowjacket Dolichovespula arenaria; some are black and white like the bald-faced hornet, Dolichovespula maculata. 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.
Wasps of the cosmopolitan genus Polistes are the most familiar of the polistine wasps, and are the most common type of paper wasp in North America. Walter Ebeling coined the vernacular name "umbrella wasps" for this genus in 1975 to distinguish it from other types of paper wasp, in reference to the form of their nests. It is also the single largest genus within the family Vespidae, with over 300 recognized species and subspecies. Their innate preferences for nest-building sites leads them to commonly build nests on human habitation, where they can be very unwelcome; although generally not aggressive, they can be provoked into defending their nests. All species are predatory, and they may consume large numbers of caterpillars, in which respect they are generally considered beneficial. The European paper wasp, Polistes dominula, was introduced into the US about 1981 and has quickly spread throughout most of the country, in most cases replacing native species within a few years. This species is very commonly mistaken for a yellow jacket, as it is black, strongly marked with yellow, and quite different from the native North American species of Polistes. The cuckoo wasp, Polistes semenowi, is an obligate social parasite, whose only host is P. dominula. Polistes metricus adults malaxate their insect prey by chewing them into a pulp, sucking out and ingesting the body fluids, then feeding the rest of the morsel to their larvae. The most widely distributed South American wasp species, Polistes versicolor, is particularly common in the southeastern Brazilian states. This social wasp is commonly referred to as the yellow paper wasp due to the distinct yellow bands found on its thorax and abdomen. Polistes wasps can be identified by their characteristic flight; their long legs dangle below their bodies, which are also more slender than a yellow jacket.
The Australian hornet, actually a type of potter wasp or "mason wasp", is a vespid native to the Australian states and territories of the Australian Capital Territory, New South Wales, Northern Territory, Victoria, Queensland and Western Australia.
Mud dauber is a name commonly applied to a number of wasps from either the family Sphecidae or Crabronidae which build their nests from mud; this excludes members of the family Vespidae, that are instead referred to as "potter wasps". Mud daubers belong to different families and are variable in appearance. Most are long, slender wasps about 1 inch (25 mm) in length. The name refers to the nests that are made by the female wasps, which consist of mud molded into place by the wasp's mandibles. Mud daubers are not normally aggressive, but can become belligerent when threatened. Stings are uncommon.
Vespula germanica, the European wasp, German wasp, or German yellowjacket, is a species of wasp found in much of the Northern Hemisphere, native to Europe, Northern Africa, and temperate Asia. It has spread and become well-established in many other places, including North America, South America, Australia, South Africa, and New Zealand. German wasps are part of the family Vespidae and are sometimes mistakenly referred to as paper wasps because they build grey paper nests, although strictly speaking, paper wasps are part of the subfamily Polistinae. In North America, they are also known as yellowjackets.
Vespula vulgaris, known as the common wasp, is a species found in regions that include the United Kingdom, Germany, India, China, New Zealand and Australia. It is sometimes known in English as the European wasp, but the same name is used for the species Vespula germanica or German wasp. In 2010, the ostensible Vespula vulgaris wasps in North America were found to be a different species, Vespula alascensis.
The Polistinae is a subfamily of eusocial wasps belonging to the family Vespidae. They are closely related to the more familiar wasps and true hornets of the subfamily Vespinae, containing four tribes. With about 1,100 species total, it is the second-most diverse subfamily within the Vespidae, and while most species are tropical or subtropical, they include some of the most frequently encountered large wasps in temperate regions.
Potter wasps, the Eumeninae, are a cosmopolitan wasp group presently treated as a subfamily of Vespidae, but sometimes recognized in the past as a separate family, Eumenidae.
The genus Megachile is a cosmopolitan group of solitary bees, often called leafcutter bees or leafcutting bees; it also includes the called resin bees and mortar bees. While other genera within the family Megachilidae may chew leaves or petals into fragments to build their nests, certain species within Megachile neatly cut pieces of leaves or petals, hence their common name. This is one of the largest genera of bees, with more than 1500 species in over 50 subgenera. The alfalfa leafcutter bee is managed on a commercial scale for crop pollination, and has been introduced by humans to various regions around the world.
Mass provisioning is a form of parental investment in which an adult insect, most commonly a hymenopteran such as a bee or wasp, stocks all the food for each of her offspring in a small chamber before she lays the egg. This behavior is common in both solitary and eusocial bees, though essentially absent in eusocial wasps.
A wasp is any insect of the narrow-waisted suborder Apocrita of the order Hymenoptera which is neither a bee nor an ant; this excludes the broad-waisted sawflies (Symphyta), which look somewhat like wasps, but are in a separate suborder. The wasps do not constitute a clade, a complete natural group with a single ancestor, as bees and ants are deeply nested within the wasps, having evolved from wasp ancestors. Wasps that are members of the clade Aculeata can sting their prey.
The European potter wasp or European tube wasp is a species of potter wasp. As an imago (adult), the female collects as many as 20 caterpillars for each nest, which consists of a single cell. Her larval offspring then feed on these inside the nest, which is sealed with mud arranged by her. As adults, they eat nectar and aphid honeydew. Males cannot sting, and the sting of a female is not painful. They can be found on windows, foraging for nectar on flowers, or searching out small cracks or holes in which to nest.
The Norwegian wasp is a species of eusocial wasp. It is common in Scandinavia and can also be found in Scotland and other areas in Britain and Ireland. Often known for being a tree wasp, it nests in low branches and bushes and feeds on insects. It also obtains nectar from blueberry and snowberry flowers. Although D. norwegica is rarely considered a pest in the past, a few cases of pest problems relating to them have been reported. The species is not endangered.
The tree wasp is a species of eusocial wasp in the family Vespidae, found in the temperate regions of Eurasia, particularly in western Europe. Despite being called the tree wasp, it builds both aerial and underground paper nests, and can be found in rural and urban habitats. D. sylvestris is a medium-sized wasp that has yellow and black stripes and a black dot in the center of its clypeus. It is most common to see this wasp between May and September during its 3.5 month colony cycle.
Polistes exclamans, the Guinea paper wasp, is a social wasp and is part of the family Vespidae of the order Hymenoptera. It is found throughout the United States, Mexico, the Bahamas, Jamaica and parts of Canada. Due to solitary nest founding by queens, P. exclamans has extended its range in the past few decades and now covers the eastern half of the United States, as well as part of the north. This expansion is typically attributed to changing global climate and temperatures. P. exclamans has three specific castes, including males, workers, and queens, but the dominance hierarchy is further distinguished by age. The older the wasp is, the higher it is in ranking within the colony. In most P. exclamans nests, there is one queen who lays all the eggs in the colony. The physiological similarities between the worker and queen castes have led to experiments attempting to distinguish the characteristics of these two castes and how they are determined, though males have easily identifiable physiological characteristics. Since P. exclamans live in relatively small, open combed nests, they are often subject to predators and parasites, such as Chalcoela iphitalis, Elasmus polistis, and birds. P. exclamans have defense and recognition strategies that help protect against these predators and parasites.
Polistes canadensis is a species of red paper wasp found in the Neotropical realm. It is a primitively eusocial wasp as a member of the subfamily Polistinae. A largely predatory species, it hunts for caterpillar meat to supply its colony, often supplementing its developing larvae with nectar. The most widely distributed American species of the genus Polistes, it colonises multiple combs, which it rears year-round.
Polistes versicolor, also known as the variegated paper wasp or yellow paper wasp, is a subtropical social wasp within Polistes, the most common genus of paper wasp. It is the most widely distributed of South American wasp species and is particularly common in the Southeastern Brazilian states. This social wasp is commonly referred to as the yellow paper wasp due to the distinct yellow bands found on its thorax and abdomen. The P. versicolor nest, made of chewed vegetable fiber, is typically a single, uncovered comb attached to the substratum by a single petiole. The yellow wasp is frequently found in urban areas. New nests and colonies are usually founded by an association of females, sometimes in human buildings. The P. versicolor colony cycle broadly ranges from 3 to 10 months, although there appears to be no relationship between the colony's development and the season of the year. While yellow paper wasps do have clear annual colony cycles, many young queens have the opportunity to hibernate during the winter, forming optional winter aggregations. Dominance hierarchies within these aggregations are characterized by physical aggression of the dominant female(s) towards the associated females, who tend to be sisters. Wagging movements are also often used as a form of communication within the colony. The yellow paper wasp is generally predatory, capturing a wide range of insects, although it often feeds on pollen and nectar as well. Therefore, P. versicolor can be useful as a pollinator or as effective pest control.
Odynerus spinipes, the spiny mason wasp, is a species of potter wasp from western Europe. It is the type species of the genus Odynerus, being first described by Carl Linnaeus in his landmark 1758 10th edition of Systema Naturae.
