Dolichovespula adulterina

Dolichovespula adulterina is a species of parasitic wasp which occurs across the Holarctic. In North America, its common names are parasitic yellowjacket or parasitic hornet.

Identification

A black and white, sometimes pale yellow, wasp with brown-tinted wings. Normally, abdominal segments 1-5 are bordered, towards their rears, with a thin white band. The large dark malar space between the eye and the yellow jaw puts this species in the genus Dolichovespula rather than the wasps of the related genus Vespula.

• Note that the North American species has now been renamed to "Dolichovespula arctica" (Kimsey & Carpenter (2012) due to species confusion. D. adulterina is now strictly a Palearctic species.

Biology

The main host of this species in Europe is D. saxonica^[1] but it will also parasitise D. norwegica.^[2] This species produces no workers, the eggs laid in the host's nest produce queens and males which are nurtured by the worker's of the host species.

Distribution

Holarctic, Europe, Asia and North America.

References