| Uniramia |
| --Centipedes |
| --Hexapoda 1 (insects) |
| --Hexapoda 2 (insects) |
| --Hexapoda 3 (insects) |
| --Identification to order level |
| --Insect orders |
| ----Lepidoptera (butterflies, moths) |
| ----Ephemeroptera (mayflies) |
| ----Hemiptera (bugs, cicadas) |
| ----Hymenoptera (bees, ants, wasps & saw flies) |
| ------Bumblebees |
| ----Coleoptera (beetles) |
| ----Dictyoptera (mantids, cockroaches) |
| ----Diptera (true flies) |
| ----Neuroptera (lacewings, ant lions) |
| ----Orthoptera (crickets, locusts) |
| ----Thysanura (bristletails, silver fish) |
| ----Strepsiptera (stylops) |
| ----Thysanoptera (thrips) |
| ----Odonata (dragonflies, damselflies) |
| ----Trichoptera (caddis flies) |
| ----Siphonaptera (fleas) |
| ----Isoptera (termites) |
| ----Phasmida (stick & leaf insects) |
| ----Dermaptera (earwigs) |
| ----Anoplura/siphunculata (sucking lice) |
| ----Mallophaga (biting lice, bird lice) |
| ----Psocoptera (book, bark, dust lice) |
| ----Mecoptera (scorpion flies) |
| ----Collembola (springtail) |
| ----Embioptera (web spinners) |
| ----Plecoptera (stone flies) |
| ----Diplura (bristletails) |
| ----Protura |
| ----Zoraptera |
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The social wasps are in the Vespidae family. there are 4000 species world wide, and seven species in Britain. Their life cycle is similar to Bumblebees, in that it is annual, with only the newly mated queens surviving the winter by hibernating. Wasp queens do not hibernate underground as bumblebees do, but usually choose a dry, cool, sheltered spot. Adults range in size from 10 - 30 mm long.
Social wasp fast facts
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Queens and females have stings, but males cannot sting.
Adults feed on wseet liquids.
Larvae feed on insects caught and cut up for them by the workers.
Hornets are the rarest of the British social wasps, and easily recognised as they are yellow and brown in colour, and larger than the common German wasp.
In Europe the hornets have a yellow head unlike the orange head of the British hornets |
Nests
On the right drawing of a hornet's nest (Vespa cabro) in the early stages, and below a wasp nest. Hornets preferred nesting site is in an old tree. The nest is similar to a wasp's, i.e. it is constructed of chewed wood mixed with saliva. The wood is obtained from unpainted fence |
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posts, fences, tree trunks, and garden furniture that is unvarnished or treated. Unlike the social bees, hornets and wasps have no wax glands and construct their nests out of chewed wood mixed with their own saliva. You can see just how powerful their jaws are by looking at the photograph of a common wasp queen's head at the bottom of the page. Right is a damaged wasp nest, either Vespula germanica or Vespula vulgaris. This nest was in a privet hedge and was found when the hedge was being trimmed. Both of these species can also build their nests underground, in hollow tree or wall cavities, bird boxes, or any suitable sheltered site. A very successful nest can contain 10 000 cells, and so occupy a large space. The total number of wasps hatched from such a nest will be greater than the number of cells, as the cells are reused. It is possible for a very successful wasp nest to produce as many as 20 000 individuals. The nest is constructed of the same material as hornets and other social wasp nests, i.e. chewed up strips of wood pulp mixed with saliva. Like bumblebees workers maintain the nest at a steady temperature of around 30oC regardless of the outside temperature.
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Food
Wasp and hornet grubs (see the drawing right) are carnivorous, the adults bring them prey which is mainly other insects. This is chewed up into a paste by the workers and queen and fed to the grubs. As many of these prey items are regarded as "pests" by gardeners, it is clear that the wasp should be regarded as the gardener's friend. The adult hornets and wasps prefer sweet foods such as nectar, and as |
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they feed the grubs the grubs exude a sweet liquid which the adult wasps lap up. Towards the end of summer when the queen has stopped laying eggs and all the grubs have been fed, there is no more need for the adult wasps to bring back insect prey, and no grubs to give the adults the sweet substances they crave. So the adults go out and search for sweet substances. They find sweet nectar in flowers, but as they have short tongues they cannot reach the nectaries of some flowers. It is at this time of year that wasps become a nuisance to man if they discover our sweet foods such as sugar, jam, ice cream, etc. In northern Europe wasps do not store food in their nests.
The larvae
The larvae (see above right)
are carnivorous eating chewed up bits of insects fed to them by adult wasps. This is why in early summer the wasp is the gardener's friend as it clears her plants of many pests.
The queen
The Vespula vulgaris queen on the right and below is 16 - 19 mm long, (right and below right). The nest is started by the queen, and is about the size of a walnut. and contains 10 - 12 hexagonal cells. The queen then lays an egg in each cell. The cells point downwards, but the egg is partially stuck to the side, so it does not fall out. On average each cell is used twice.
Adults
Adults are vegetarian eating any sugary liquid, but mainly sugary liquid exuded from the grubs and nectar from flowers. Vespula vulgaris workers (females) are 11 - 44 mm long, and the males are 13 - 17 mm long. In the U. K. the first adult workers emerge around the end of May.
The lifecycle is similar to that of bumblebees, and the queen will have mated the previous summer/autumn.
On the right you can see a close up of a queen's head showing the 3 simple eyes or ocelli. |
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on the right and below a queen of Vespula vulgaris. The photograph below shows the powerful jaws needed to scrape bits of wood off fences etc. then chew them into a pulp for nest construction.
How to tell the difference between Vespula vulgaris (the common wasp), and Vespula germanica (the German wasp).
If you look at the black mark on the face of the queen below you'll se that it is long and curved up at the ends rather like an anchor - this is typical of common wasps. The German wasp has 3 black instead of this black anchor.
Flight speed of hornets and wasps
Hornets are speedy fliers with a flight speed of 6.0 metres per second and 100 wing beats per second. Compare this with other insects. Wasp flight speed has been recorded as 2.5 metres per second. Compare this with other insects. They are expert fliers and can fly up, down, forwards and backwards.
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Paper wasps, Polistes sp.
On the left is an old nest of
a Polistese sp. wasp. These wasps are known as paper wasps and usually have
fairly small nests in sheltered locations. This one was on the inside of a
window shutter, so it would have been in the dark.
return to main Hymenoptera page |
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(C) Copyright 1997 - 2010 |
A wife was making a breakfast of fried eggs for her husband.Suddenly, her husband burst into the kitchen. 'Careful,' he said, 'CAREFUL! Put in some more butter! Oh my gosh! You're cooking too many at once. TOO MANY! Turn them! TURN THEM NOW! We need more butter. Oh my gosh! WHERE are we going to get MORE BUTTER? They're going to STICK! Careful. CAREFUL! I said be CAREFUL! You NEVER listen to me when you're cooking! Never! Turn them! Hurry up! Are you CRAZY? Have you LOST your mind? Don't forget to salt them. You know you always forget to salt them. Use the! salt. USE THE SALT! THE SALT!' The wife stared at him. 'What in the world is wrong with you? You think I don't know how to fry a couple of eggs?' The husband calmly replied, 'I just wanted to show you what it feels like when I'm driving.' |
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