Insects › Hornets, Paper Wasps, Potter Wasps, and Allies

Common European Yellowjacket

Vespula vulgaris

Easily confused with

Study checks a spoken answer against these, and tells you which one you named.

Where it is recorded

Records by month in Alaska.January 1,988, February 1,468, March 2,301, April 3,620, May 5,219, June 5,691, July 6,090, August 5,237, September 3,845, October 2,870, November 1,568, December 1,226.
United States43,051
Alaska41,123
United Kingdom4,424
England3,792
Germany2,346
New Zealand2,062
Canada1,905
Ontario1,642
Minnesota1,605
Russia1,067

Counts show where people looked, not only where it lives.

Traits

Behavioral

  • EusocialLives in colonies with division of labor and cooperative brood careFrom its classification

Physical

  • ExoskeletonHas a hard external skeletonFrom its classification

Practical

  • StingingCan deliver a painful stingFrom its classification

Classification

KingdomAnimals · Animalia
PhylumArthropods · Arthropoda
ClassInsects · Insecta
OrderAnts, Bees, Wasps, and Sawflies · Hymenoptera
FamilyHornets, Paper Wasps, Potter Wasps, and Allies · Vespidae
GenusGround Yellowjackets · Vespula

Sources

Remember the name next time.

Practise Common European Yellowjacket with real photos from different observers. Say the name out loud, and it comes back just before you would forget it.