Vespula

Vespula is a small genus of social wasps, widely distributed in the Northern Hemisphere. Along with members of their sister genus Dolichovespula, they are collectively known by the common name yellowjackets (or yellow jackets) in North America. Vespula species have a shorter oculomalar space (shown in the figure below right) and a more pronounced tendency to nest underground than Dolichovespula.

Vespula
German wasp (Vespula germanica)
Scientific classification
Kingdom:	Animalia
Phylum:	Arthropoda
Class:	Insecta
Order:	Hymenoptera
Family:	Vespidae
Subfamily:	Vespinae
Genus:	Vespula Thomson, 1869
Type species
Vespa austriaca Panzer, 1799[1]
Species
23 species
Synonyms
Pseudovespa Schmiedeknecht 1881 Allovespula Blüthgen, 1943 Rugovespula Archer, 1982

Notable species

• While most species of this genus inhabit North America, four Vespula species inhabit Europe, namely V. austriaca, V. germanica, V. rufa, and V. vulgaris.
• Two common European species, the German wasp (V. germanica) and the common wasp (V. vulgaris), have established in other countries; both species are now found in New Zealand, Australia, and South America, while the former has also been introduced in South America, and the latter in Southern Africa.
• The eastern yellowjacket (V. maculifrons) and western yellowjacket (V. pensylvanica) are native to North America.

Illustration showing oculomalar space

Species

• Vespula acadica (Sladen, 1918) – forest yellowjacket^[2]
• Vespula akrei Landolt, 2010^[3]
• Vespula alascensis Packard, 1870 – common yellowjacket^[2]
• Vespula arisana (Sonan, 1929) – Taiwan yellowjacket
• Vespula atropilosa (Sladen, 1918) – prairie yellowjacket^[2]
• Vespula austriaca (Panzer, 1799) – red cuckoo wasp
• Vespula consobrina (Saussure, 1854) – blackjacket^[2]
• Vespula flaviceps (Smith, 1870)
• Vespula flavopilosa Jacobson, 1978 – downy yellowjacket^[4][2]
• Vespula germanica (Fabricius, 1793) – German wasp, German yellowjacket^[2]
• Vespula inexspectata Eck, 1991 – volcano yellowjacket^[3]
• Vespula infernalis (Saussure, 1854) – cuckoo yellowjacket^[2]
• Vespula ingrica Birula, 1931
• Vespula intermedia (Buysson, 1904–05) – northern red-banded yellowjacket^[2]
• Vespula kingdonwardi Archer, 1981^[5]
• Vespula koreensis (Rad., 1887)
• Vespula maculifrons (Buysson, 1905) – eastern yellowjacket
• Vespula nursei Archer, 1981^[5]
• Vespula orbata (Buysson 1902)
• Vespula pensylvanica (Saussure, 1857) – western yellowjacket^[2]
• Vespula rufa (Linnaeus, 1758) – red wasp
• Vespula shidai Ish., Yam., Wagn., 1980^[6]
• Vespula squamosa (Drury, 1770) – southern yellowjacket
• Vespula structor (Smith, 1870)
• Vespula sulphurea (Saussure, 1854) – California yellowjacket^[2]
• Vespula vidua (Saussure, 1854)^[2] – long yellowjacket or widow yellowjacket
• Vespula vulgaris (Linnaeus, 1758) – common wasp

See also:

• Paravespula, a subgenus of Vespula

Venom

The venom of Vespula is mostly composed of antigen 5, hyaluronidase, and phospholipase.^{[King et al 1983 1]}

Immunology

A high degree of similarity occurs between immunogenic fractions of different Vespula species.^{[King et al 1983 2][King et al 1983 3]} Rabbit serum antibodies are unable to distinguish between them.^{[King et al 1983 2][King et al 1983 3]}