| Vespula germanica | |
|---|---|
| A German wasp | |
| Scientific classification | |
| Kingdom: | Animalia |
| Phylum: | Arthropoda |
| Class: | Insecta |
| Order: | Hymenoptera |
| Suborder: | Apocrita |
| Family: | Vespidae |
| Genus: | Vespula |
| Species: | V. germanica |
| Binomial name | |
| Vespula germanica (Fabricius, 1793) |
|
| Distribution of the German Wasp. Native distribution in blue, introduced in red. | |
The German wasp, or European wasp, Vespula germanica, is a wasp found in much of the Northern Hemisphere, native to Europe, northern Africa, and temperate Asia. It has been introduced and is well-established in many other places, including North America, South America (Argentina and Chile), Australia and New Zealand. German wasps are part of the family Vespidae and are sometimes mistakenly referred to as paper wasps because they build a grey paper nest—although, strictly speaking, paper wasps are part of the subfamily Polistinae. In North America, they are also known as yellowjackets.
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The German wasp is about 13mm (0.5 inch) long, and has typical wasp colours of black and yellow. It is very similar to the common wasp (Vespula vulgaris), but seen head on, its face has three tiny black dots. German wasps also have black dots on their abdomen, while the common wasp's analogous markings are fused with the black rings above them, forming a different pattern.
The nest is made from chewed plant fibres, mixed with saliva. They are generally found close to or in the ground, rather than higher up on bushes and trees like hornets. It has open cells and a petiole attaching the nest to the substrate. The wasps produce a chemical which repels ants, and secrete it around the base of this petiole in order to avoid ant predation.
A solitary female queen starts the nest, building 20–30 cells before initial egg-laying. This phase begins in spring, depending on climatic conditions. She fashions a petiole and produces a single cell at the end of it. Six further cells are then added around this to produce the characteristic hexagonal shape of the nest cells.
Once the larvae have hatched as workers, they take up most of the colony’s foraging, brood care and nest maintenance. A finished nest may be 20–30 cm across and contain 3,000 individuals.
Each wasp colony includes one queen and a number of sterile workers. Colonies usually last only one year, all but the queen dying at the onset of winter. However, in mild climates such as New Zealand, around 10% of the colonies survive the winter. New queens and males (drones) are produced towards the end of the summer, and after mating, the queen overwinters in a crack or other sheltered location.
This common and widespread wasp collects insects including caterpillars to feed to its larvae, and is therefore generally beneficial. The adults feed on nectar and sweet fruit, and are also attracted to human food and food waste, particularly sodas and meats.
The nests are subject to predation by the Honey Buzzard, which excavates them to obtain the larva. The hoverfly Volucella pellucens and some of its relatives lay their eggs in the wasp's nest, and the larva feeds on the wasp's young.
This species is considered a pest in most areas outside its native range, though its long residency in North America is such that it is not treated with any level of urgency there, in contrast to areas such as South America, where the introduction is more recent, and the impacts far more dramatic, prompting a greater degree of concern over control measures (e.g.[1]).
Along with the closely related common wasp and two species of Polistes, the German wasp is likewise considered to be a pest in New Zealand. It was probably introduced in the late 19th century, but did not appear in large numbers until around 1940.[2] It is common in the beech forest since it is one of the two wasps that feeds on the honeydew exuded by the native beech scale insect which lives in the bark of the trees.[3] It has a serious effect on the forest ecology since there is less honeydew available for the native birds. In domestic situations nests have been known to become very large, sometimes taking up entire attic spaces in houses. This is put down to the comparatively mild winters experienced in New Zealand, as opposed to the wasp's usual European habitat.
An unusual attempt at wasp control is related from Abercairney in Scotland, where until the 1950s children were encouraged to compete in the Wasp Cup, awarded to the competitor who handed in the most queen wasps. The wasps were stuck to card and a payment of 1d was made for each; totals of forty were not uncommon.[4]