Eastern Yellowjacket: Difference between revisions
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'''The Eastern Yellow Jacket''', Vespula maculifrons, is a wasp found in eastern North America and throughout the Great Plains region of the United States <ref name="one">Genetic structure and breeding system in a social wasp and its social parasite. Hoffman, Eric A., Kovacs, Jennifer L. and Goodisman, Michael A. D. August 20, 2008, BMC Evolutionary Biology.</ref>. This yellow jacket is a social insect, living in colonies of hundreds to thousands of individuals<ref name="two">Yellowjackets and Hornet Vespula and Dolichovespula spp. (Insecta: Hymenoptera: Vespidae). Grissell, E. E. and Fasulo, Thomas R. 2007, University of Florida IFAS Extension, pp. 1-5.</ref>. Along with their subfamily, Vespinae, this species demonstrates supportive parental care for offspring, separation of reproductive and sterile castes, and overlapping generations<ref name="three">Identification Atlas of the Vespidae (Hymenoptera, Aculeata) of the norteastern Nearctic region. Buck, Matthias, Marshall, Stephen A. and Cheung, David K. B. 2008, Canadian Journal of Arthropod Identification No. 5, pp. 20-21; 402-403.</ref>. Their nests are usually in the ground and constructed out of papery material, giving the outside envelope the consistency of charred paper<ref name="two"/>. |
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== Physical Characteristics == |
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'''Description''' |
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The most recognizable features of ''V. maculifrons'' are the black and yellow lines on the head, thorax and abdomen. The body is curved and wider than the head. The abdomen shrinks in where it attaches to the thorax, which is thinner than the abdomen. The antennae are black. The individuals of the species range in size from 1/2 inch -5/8”<ref>Milne, Lorus and Milne, Margery. Yellow Jackets. The Audubon Society Field Guide to North American Insects and Spiders. s.l. : Alfred A. Knopf, Inc. , 1980, pp. 836-837.</ref>. The queens are the largest, followed by the males and then the workers. |
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== Biology and Behavior == |
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'''Range and Habitat''' |
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''V. maculifrons'' is found in eastern North America and throughout the Great Plains region of the United States<ref name="one"/>. This type of yellow jacket nests in the ground<ref name="five">Borror, Donald J., Triplehorn, Charles A. and Johnson, Norman F. Order Hymenoptera. An Introduction to the Study of Insects. Sixth Edition. s.l. : Saunders College Publishing, 1989, 35, pp. 665-737.</ref>, although unusual nest locations can occur above the ground in urban environments such as hollow walls, attics, and other artificial spaces<ref name="three"/>. |
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'''Life Cycle and Reproduction''' |
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A colony consists of three types of individuals in a social group: queens, workers, and males. The colonies only exist for a single season, as the queens are the only to last overwinter. Each spring, the queen starts a new colony by herself<ref name="five"/>. Until the first offspring emerge as adults, the lone queen lays eggs, forages for food, cares for the young, and defends the nest<ref>Evans, Howard E. and West Eberhard, Mary Jane. The Wasps. Ann Arbor : The University of Michigan Press, 1970.</ref>. The first offspring consists of workers, which take over all tasks except egg-laying, which the queen devotes the rest of her life to doing<ref name="two"/>. At the end of the summer the queen produces new reproductive queens from fertilized eggs and males from unfertilized eggs<ref>The Significance of Multiple Mating in the Social Wasp ''Vespula maculifrons''. Goodisman, Michael A. D., Kovacs, Jennifer L. and Hoffman, Eric A. 2007, The Society for the Study of Evoltion, pp. 2260-2267.</ref>. As both emerge, the new queens mate with the males. After fertilized, the new queens seek shelter for the winter, as they will be the founders of next year’s colonies. The old founder queen dies, as does the rest of the colony with winter’s arrival<ref name="two"/>. |
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'''Nests''' |
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In the spring, the queen selects the spot where the colony will be located. Under natural conditions, the nests are almost always in the ground. Exceptions occur when the nest is located in an urban environment where it is built in an artificial cavity<ref name="two"/>. By chewing wood and adding in saliva to make a quick drying pulp, these wasps assemble paper nests<ref name="eight">Andrews, Christopher. The Lives of Wasps and Bees. New York : American Elsevier Publishing Company, Inc., 1971. pp. 100-107.</ref>. The queen begins the initial structure of the nest. The first part of the nest constructed is the stalk, which eventually narrows into a cord and then expands again to make the first hexagonal cell. Other cells are then added to the sides of the first and an envelope is built around the first group of cells which form a miniature comb<ref name="eight"/>. The queen then lays eggs in these cells, which will become workers when hatched. As soon as the workers emerge from their larval state, the nest begins to enlarge rapidly. As more cells are added, the comb grows fast and when there are enough cells on the first comb, a second comb is added, and so on<ref name="eight"/>. To make room for more cells, the inner layers of the envelope are re-chewed and used to make more envelope layers outside. Because most of the nests are located underground, the cavity in which the nest is built is enlarged by removing earth, carrying it and dropping it outside of the nest<ref name="eight"/>. |
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Nests of ''V. maculifrons'' can be parasitized by other species. One species of ''Vespula'', ''V. squamosa'', is a known social parasite of this wasp. Social parasites, such as this one, benefit from care of offspring or other resources at the expense of the social host species<ref name="one"/>. Although it is capable of founding its own colony, this parasitic wasp may still usurp nests of not only ''V. maculifrons'', but other species as well<ref>Phylogenetic Relationships Among Yellowjackets and the Evolution of Social Parasitism (Hymenoptera: Vespidae, Vespinae). Carpenter, James M. and Perera, Estelle P. 2006, American Museum Novitates, pp. 1-19.</ref>. Once host colonies are located, ''V. squamosa'' queen kills the host species queen and takes control of the colony<ref name="one"/>. |
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'''Diet''' |
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Adult wasps only consume liquid foods. Most of their food is nectar from flowers, juices of fruit, and other sweet things<ref name="ten">Richards, O. W. The Social Insects. New York : Harper and Brothers, 1961.</ref>. Since they are attracted to sugar sources, they may be attracted to soft drinks or other foods that are consumed by humans<ref name="two"/>. The larvae feed on other insects and pieces of dead animal that are chewed into a paste and delivered to them by adults<ref name="ten"/>. |
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== Economic Importance == |
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''V. maculifrons'' destroy many insects that consume cultivated and ornamental plants, providing a valuable service to humans<ref name="two"/>. They can, however, be a source of irritation when their nests are located near homes. ''V. maculifrons'' are adept at stinging, especially if the nest is threatened. Not to be confused with certain bees that die after a single sting, these wasps may sting whenever they feel necessary<ref name="two"/>. |
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