Common wasp
Vespula vulgaris, known as the Common wasp, is a species found in regions that include the United Kingdom, Ireland, Germany, India, China, New Zealand and Australia. It is sometimes known in English as the European wasp, but the same name is used for the species Vespula germanica or German wasp. In 2010, the ostensible Vespula vulgaris wasps in North America were found to be a different species, Vespula alascensis.
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DiurnalDiurnal animals are active during the daytime, with a period of sleeping or other inactivity at night. The timing of activity by an animal depends ...
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TerrestrialTerrestrial animals are animals that live predominantly or entirely on land (e.g., cats, ants, snails), as compared with aquatic animals, which liv...
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OviparousOviparous animals are female animals that lay their eggs, with little or no other embryonic development within the mother. This is the reproductive...
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starts withAdult workers of V. vulgaris measure about 12–17 mm (0.5–0.7 in) from head to tip of abdomen, and weigh 84.1 ± 19.0 mg, whereas the queen is about 20 mm (0.8 in) long. It has aposematic colors of black and yellow; yellow pronotal bands which are almost parallel to each other and black dots and rings on its abdomen. The queens and workers appear very similar to Vespula germanica, except when they are seen head on, as the V. vulgaris face lacks the three black dots of V. germanica. Instead, each has only one black mark on its clypeus, which is usually anchor or dagger-shaped. This applies to queens and workers only. In addition, identification of this species may be difficult because the black mark on its clypeus can sometimes appear broken, making it again look similar to V. germanica. It is prudent to use multiple identifying characteristics and if in any doubt to consult experts.
Still more difficult to distinguish between species are the males. Almost undetectable with the naked eye, the only confident identification of V. vulgaris males is to seek the distinct aedeagus tip shapes and lateral processes of their genitalia.
V. vulgaris is a Palearctic species. It has been discovered in a wide range of countries, including the United Kingdom, Germany, India, and China. It is invasive in New Zealand and Australia, and South America. Until 2010, it was thought to be in North America as well, but molecular and morphological data showed that specimens identified as V. vulgaris there were Vespula alascensis, which had previously been considered a taxonomic synonym, but is now considered a separate species.
V. vulgaris has high adaptation skills for environments. It flourishes in most types of habitats, including prairie, grassland, natural and planted forests, shrub lands, and even in urban zones such as gardens, orchards, and buildings. However, it does require the temperature to be moderately warm, because its foraging activity is temperature-dependent (above 2 °C ).
The painful, though rarely life-threatening sting involves the injection of a complex venom containing amines (histamine, tyramine, serotonin, catecholamines), peptides, and proteins, including many hydrolases. The alkaline venom is quite different from bee venom, which is acidic.
Similarly to other Vespulas, Vespula vulgaris feed on animal preys such as caterpillars to feed their developing larvae and carbohydrates, such as nectar and sweet fruits, to satisfy their own energy requirements. Their usual food sources are freshly killed insects such as Hymenoptera, lepidopteran larvae and Diptera and spiders. Common wasps will also attempt to invade honey bees' nests to steal their honey.
Although the types of prey Vespula vulgaris and Vespula germanica forage are almost the same, that of Vespula germanica are generally 2–3.5 times bigger and heavier than that of Vespula vulgaris. This is mainly due to the size difference of the two species. Because the Vespula germanica foragers are bigger in morphology than those of Vespula vulgaris, and they both transport the prey by carrying them, it would be advantageous for the wasp to be bigger to be able to hold larger prey.
A V. vulgaris nest is made from chewed wood fibers mixed with worker saliva. It is generally made of brittle tan coloured paper. It has open cells and a cylindrical column known as a petiole attaching the nest to the substrate. The wasps produce a chemical which repels ants and secrete it around the base of the petiole, to avoid ant predation.
Many variations are seen in the characteristics of the nests within the species. Aerial nests and nests that are very close to the surface of the ground have much thicker envelopes than those under the ground. The wasps build thick envelopes to prevent heat from escaping. Also, smaller nests have thicker envelopes than larger nests. This is mainly due to the fact that the amount of heat produced is proportional to the volume of the nest. The larger a nest is the better it will be in conserving the nest warmth. The optimal temperature of the nest is around 32 °C (90 °F). However, when the temperature rises above the optimal temperature (during hot days), the workers use their wings as fans to cool the nest down.
V. vulgaris wasps recognize their nests by making pheromone trails from the entrance of their nest to the site of foraging. Those "footprints" are not colony specific, but species specific. Although many other insects such as ants produce such pheromone trails as well, Vespula vulgaris generate pheromone either by special abdominal glands or from the gut.
Although the two species Vespula vulgaris and Vespula germanica have extremely similar biological features, characteristics of their nests are distinctive. Vespula germanica nests generally survive the winter, while those of Vespula vulgaris do not. This difference is due mainly to the variation in prey. Vespula vulgaris food sources are greatly affected by temperature, while those of Vespula germanica are not, providing them with a higher chance of survival even during the winter. Because many Vespula germanica are able to overwinter and most Vespula vulgaris are not, except for the queen, this affects the nest size of the two species. Vespula germanica generally have slightly bigger nest size (3500–9000 larvae in one colony cycle) than Vespula vulgaris (3000–8000 larvae in one colony cycle).
