Dolichovespula

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Dolichovespula
Dolichovespula maculata
Scientific classification
Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Arthropoda
Class: Insecta
Order: Hymenoptera
Family: Vespidae
Subfamily: Vespinae
Genus: Dolichovespula
Rohwer, 1916
Subgenera
  • Dolichovespula (Rohwer, 1916)
  • Pseudovespula (Bischof, 1931)

Dolichovespula is a small genus of social wasps distributed widely throughout the Northern Hemisphere. The yellow and black members of the genus are known by the common name yellowjackets in North America along with members of their sister genus Vespula. Others, like the bald-faced hornet (D. maculata), are black and white.

A set of morphological differences distinguishes them from Vespula. The most noticeable is the long face (dolikhos = "long" in Greek). Viewed from the front, Dolichovespula faces are long, while Vespula faces are short and round. The oculo-malar space, the distance between the eye and the mandible, is long in Dolichovespula and short in Vespula.

Dolichovespula nests are usually aerial, while Vespula often nest underground.

Wasp morphology: the oculo-malar space

Species

  • Dolichovespula adulterina (Buysson, 1905) – parasitic yellowjacket
  • Dolichovespula alpicola Eck 1984 – Rocky Mountain aerial yellowjacket
  • Dolichovespula arenaria (Fabricius, 1775) – aerial yellowjacket
  • Dolichovespula asiatica Archer, 1981
  • Dolichovespula baileyi Archer, 1987
  • Dolichovespula carolina (Linnaeus, 1767)
  • Dolichovespula flora Archer, 1987
  • Dolichovespula kuami Kim, 1996
  • Dolichovespula lama (Buysson, 1903)
  • Dolichovespula maculata (Linnaeus, 1763) – bald-faced hornet
  • Dolichovespula media (Retz., 1783) – median wasp
  • Dolichovespula norvegicoides (Sladen, 1918) – Arctic yellowjacket
  • Dolichovespula norwegica (Fabricius 1781)
  • Dolichovespula omissa (Bischoff, 1931)
  • Dolichovespula pacifica (Birula, 1930)
  • Dolichovespula panda Archer, 1980
  • Dolichovespula saxonica (Fabricius, 1793) – saxon wasp
  • Dolichovespula stigma Lee 1986
  • Dolichovespula sylvestris (Scopoli, 1763) – tree wasp
  • Dolichovespula xanthicincta Archer, 1980

References

Funet: "Dolichovespula". Retrieved 2008-11-17. 

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