Wasp Identification Bc
Waneta
Wasps and hornets are flying insects that can be both beneficial to the environment and cause damage to homes. Although wasps and hornets are different species of pests, they are commonly associated together, and the same methods are used to get rid of both.
Yellow jackets are among the most common species of wasps in the United States, along with paper wasps, red wasps, mud daubers, and ground wasps. Wasps vary in appearance based on species but do share some common characteristics.
Only one species of hornet, the European Hornet, lives in North America, while many species of wasps do. Use this guide to determine if you have wasps, hornets, or other pests around your home or office. Then, read our guide on how to get rid of wasps and hornets for treatment options.
Wasps are an essential part of a healthy ecosystem. Different species of wasps include yellowjackets, hornets, paper wasps, mud wasps, potter wasps, pollen wasps, and bald-faced wasps. Though they have different aggression levels, all of these wasps can inflict a painful sting.
Wasps look similar to bees but have a few distinct differences. They have long, slender bodies with sparse hair. Wasps may be solid black, solid yellow, or bright yellow-orange or yellow and black with stripes. When wasps fly, they let their legs hang down.
There are over 10,000 wasps in the world. The most common kinds of wasps are paper wasps, which can also be easily confused with yellow jackets. Many wasps look similar, but they have different purposes and aggression levels.
Some wasps pollinate directly, but most of them provide natural pest control. They either kill insects and invertebrates to feed larvae, or they use the host body to lay their eggs. Once the eggs hatch, they consume the insect or invertebrate and emerge.
A yellowjacket is a social wasp and is considered Vespula and Dolichovespula. They are smaller but more aggressive than other wasps, which leaves many afraid of them. Despite their small size, yellowjackets pack powerful venom in their stings that can cause an allergic reaction in some people and animals.
One of the best ways to identify a yellow is by its segmented bodies and long wings. They will always fold their wings downwards when resting. They have mostly yellow markings with some black stripes occasionally. Like other wasps, they will not have any hair or fuzz. Adult yellowjackets are 3/8ths to 5/8ths of an inch in length.
Like bees, yellowjackets live in large colonies. One colony can have thousands of members. A nest typically holds between 500 and 15,000 yellow jackets. The bigger a nest gets, the more members it can hold.
Yellowjackets love to build nests on walls or in corners. Their nests will look like a paper version of a beehive constructed against a wall or somewhere structurally stable. They also may choose to move to a ground location, which can be dangerous for humans. With a nest in the ground, humans and pets are more likely to encounter the nest without realizing it, prompting defensive swarming from the wasps.
Yellowjackets will sting, but unlike bees, they can sting multiple times. They do not lose their stingers like honey bees. Since they are more aggressive than bees and sting multiple times, they can cause a lot of pain or a severe allergic reaction in humans and pets. People may encounter the nest while doing yard work or unknowingly disturbing a ground nest.
In appearance, hornets look like yellowjackets only with a few key differences. They have more intense black and yellow stripes than yellowjackets and their body shapes differ drastically. They have a longer abdomen than a yellow jacket, making them appear much bigger. Hornets can reach up to 2.2 inches in length.
Hornets have long bodies, a lack of hair, black eyes, and longer legs than other wasps. They also have two large, noticeable eyes on the side of their head. If the wasp is bigger than an average fingernail, it is probably a hornet and not a yellow jacket.
These wasps live all over North America, making them a common sight for people in the US. They can be found in meadows, orchards, woodland areas, playgrounds, and cemeteries. They will build their nests in a structurally secure place and thrive as long as they can scavenge, hunt, and ingest nectar or sucrose.
Like other wasps, hornets can and will sting when they feel threatened. They have smooth stingers, unlike honey bees, and will not lose their stingers as they sting. Because of this, they can sting multiple times without issue.
These are not as social as other wasps. In fact, their colonies or nests tend to be some of the smallest among wasp species. Their nest will only have between 100 to 200 workers. Some larger nests may have up to 400 cells, but that is not as common.
Like other wasps, paper wasps will make nests near humans. They can be found near homes, woodland areas, parks, and other places that people visit frequently, which gives them access to human food scraps.
A mud wasp is considered Sphecidae or Crabronidae. Both of these are considered one family by most of the scientific community, but some researchers may identify them separately. These are some of the most docile wasps.
Mud wasps have black bodies and yellow legs. Their thorax is long and spindly. It almost looks like their body is separated because of how wiry the thorax is. They are long, slender, hairless, and only 1 to 1.5 inches long.
Mud wasps are not as social as other wasps and part of the reason for that is that their nests are not as big as others. Each wasp will create a tube made from mud and only one wasp lives inside each tube or pipe. Sometimes, they will have clusters of up to five but it can be hard to find a bigger colony similar in size to that of yellow jackets. This is one of the key differences between mud wasps and other wasps.
Mud wasps create unique nests that differentiate them from other types of wasps. Individual wasps will build a tube or pipe right next to the other. Each tube will hold only one wasp. When a few mud wasps construct nests next to each other, it will look like a pan flute made out of the mud.
Mud wasps will only sting if humans get too close to their nests. They are very protective over the nest they build, but other than that, they are not as aggressive as other wasps. Their stings may also only cause a slight itch or swelling, compared to the severe pain of hornets or yellow jackets. They may only sting once, but like other wasps, they can sting multiple times without losing their stingers.
Potter wasps are related to mud wasps because they are in the Eumeninae subfamily, which is under the Vespidae family. They are solitary wasps and not as social as yellow jackets or hornets.
Potter wasps will have a nest the size of a cherry tomato, but they will eventually grow to the size of a small football. The nest may only hold between 20 and 75 wasps at a time. They are not as social as other types of wasps.
In the US, there are over 270 kinds of potter wasps. They live mostly in the northern hemisphere. Potter wasps love to forage for other things besides human food scraps. They are present near woodland areas and meadows with flowers.
These hornets are technically a type of yellowjacket, but they are larger and much more aggressive. They are part of the Vespula and Dolichovespula families. Bald-faced wasps are well-known because of their aggressive behaviour and odd colourings.
Bald-faced hornets mostly live on the West Coast of the United States. More specifically near the Rocky Mountains all the way up to some parts of Canada. It is rare to find them on the East Coast of North America.
While bald-faced hornets should be avoided at all costs, other types of wasps, such as the yellowjacket and paper wasp, help rid gardens of plant-killing pests and maintain a balanced, local ecosystem.
Northern giant hornet and yellow-legged hornet are included for reference and comparison, since distant states have had isolated detections of these species. Neither species has been found in Maryland or neighboring states.
In the United States, this non-native hornet has not been found outside of Washington state. This wasp is native to Asia but was first found in British Columbia, Canada, and in Washington State in the fall and winter of 2019. Washington set up a baited trap system for surveying populations of this pest, and occasional isolated detections of additional hornet individuals or nests have occurred in the years following. Located nests are eradicated.
Given their large size, European hornets (social wasps) and Eastern cicada killers (solitary wasps) are often misidentified as this species. If you think you have found this hornet outside of Washington, it is likely one of the similar species above. After reviewing the identification materials on this page, if you think you have encountered a Northern giant hornet, please send a photo of the wasp to your local Extension office or submit it to Ask Extension.
This non-native hornet has not been found in the Mid-Atlantic region. The first detection of this species in the U.S. was in Savannah, Georgia, in August 2023, followed by another in South Carolina in November 2023. Their native range is tropical and subtropical areas of Southeast Asia, though they were accidentally introduced to Europe in the early 2000s. As per routine procedure for new and potentially invasive species, the United States Department of Agriculture Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service (USDA-APHIS) is working with the Georgia Department of Agriculture, the University of Georgia, and Clemson University to identify, trap, track, and eradicate these hornets.
European hornets might be misidentified as this species due to their similar size and coloration. If you think you have encountered a yellow-legged hornet, please send a clear photo of the wasp to your local Extension office or submit it to Ask Extension.
Several species of paper wasp (genus Polistes) occur in Maryland. Except for the European paper wasp (Polistes dominula), which originated in Eurasia, most (if not all) other species are native to Maryland.
64591212e2