Common wasp facts for kids
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The common wasp, known scientifically as Vespula vulgaris, is a type of wasp found in many parts of the world. These include places like the United Kingdom, Germany, India, China, New Zealand, and Australia. Sometimes, people call it the European wasp, but this name can also refer to another species, Vespula germanica, or the German wasp. Another common name for Vespula vulgaris is the common yellow-jacket. However, in 2010, scientists found that the wasps thought to be Vespula vulgaris in North America were actually a different species, called Vespula alascensis.
Contents
- What is a Common Wasp?
- Where Does the Name Come From?
- How to Spot a Common Wasp
- Where Do Common Wasps Live?
- Life Cycle in the Northern Hemisphere
- How Young Wasps Grow
- How the Queen Starts a Nest
- The Wasp Nest
- Wasp Behaviors
- Wasp Venom
- What Affects Foraging?
- What Do Common Wasps Eat?
- Wasp Roles in the Colony
- The Queen Wasp
- Common Wasp as a Pest
- Who Eats Common Wasps?
- Images for kids
- See also
What is a Common Wasp?
The common wasp is a social insect, meaning it lives in large groups with a queen and many workers. They build their nests out of a paper-like material, usually a tan color. These nests are often found inside hollow trees, wall spaces, rock cracks, or even holes made by animals. A wasp colony usually lasts for about 6 to 11 months. During this time, a single colony can produce between 3,000 and 8,000 young wasps.
Common wasps are very good at adapting to different places. They can live in many environments, from very wet areas to human-made places like gardens and buildings. These wasps, along with other types like the German wasp, have affected ecosystems, especially in New Zealand and Australia. They were brought there by humans and can sometimes harm fruit crops. They can also be a bother to people.
Where Does the Name Come From?
The scientific name Vespula vulgaris comes from the Latin word vulgaris, which means "common." So, it literally means "common wasp." This species has many other names, like "European wasp" or "common yellow jacket." But, as we learned, a study in 2010 showed that the common yellow jacket in America is actually a different species, now called V. alascensis. The common wasp is closely related to another wasp species, V. austriaca.
In some parts of England, people sometimes call common wasps "jaspers." It's not clear if this name comes from the Latin word vespa (meaning wasp) or because their striped bodies look like the striped mineral called jasper.
How to Spot a Common Wasp
Adult worker common wasps are about 12 to 17 millimeters (0.5 to 0.7 inches) long. They weigh about 84 milligrams. The queen is larger, around 20 millimeters (0.8 inches) long. They have bright black and yellow colors, which are a warning to predators that they can sting. They have yellow stripes on their upper body and black dots and rings on their abdomen.
It can be tricky to tell common wasps apart from German wasps. If you look at their faces head-on, common wasps usually have only one black mark on their face, which often looks like an anchor or a dagger. German wasps, on the other hand, usually have three black dots. However, sometimes the common wasp's mark can look broken, making it harder to tell them apart.
It's even harder to tell the males of these two species apart. You can barely see the differences without a microscope. The only sure way to identify male common wasps is by looking at the specific shapes of their reproductive parts.
Where Do Common Wasps Live?
Common wasps are originally from a large area called the Palearctic region, which includes Europe and parts of Asia. They have been found in many countries, including the United Kingdom, Germany, India, and China. They are considered an invasive species in New Zealand and Australia, meaning they are not native there and can cause problems.
Before 2010, people thought common wasps also lived in North America. But then, scientists used special tools to study their bodies and DNA. They found that the wasps in North America were actually Vespula alascensis, which is now known as a separate species.
Common wasps are very good at living in different places. They can thrive in many types of environments, like grasslands, forests, and even cities with gardens and buildings. However, they need the temperature to be fairly warm. They usually only go out to find food when the temperature is above 2°C (36°F).
Life Cycle in the Northern Hemisphere
In the cooler parts of the Northern Hemisphere, the common wasp colony goes through five main stages. Each stage lasts about 30 to 35 days. The colony starts in April when the queen builds the nest. It usually ends around October when the weather gets cold and the queen dies. A colony can grow to have between 3,000 and 8,000 young wasps. The queen lays about 200 to 300 eggs each day for about 24 days.
- Stage 1 – Starting Out: The queen builds the first part of the nest. She lays eggs and takes care of the first group of worker wasps.
- Stage 2 – Growing Fast: Once the first workers hatch, they take over finding food. The queen then focuses on laying eggs and caring for the young. The number of workers grows very quickly.
- Stage 3 – Slower Growth: The colony still grows, but not as fast as in Stage 2.
- Stage 4 – Peak Time: The number of workers stops growing. The wasps start building special cells for new queens. Male wasps also appear. The new queens and males mate. The new queens then go into hibernation for the winter. They will start new colonies in the spring.
- Stage 5 – Decline: This stage usually happens because the queen dies or gets sick. The colony starts to fall apart. Workers might even eat each other. Foraging for food becomes messy. Eventually, the remaining workers die from cold or hunger.
How Young Wasps Grow
It takes about five days for a wasp egg to hatch. How long a young wasp stays in its larval stage depends on how much food is brought to the nest. If there's plenty of food, they grow quickly. If food is scarce, it takes longer. The first adult wasps appear about 23 days after hatching. The young queens take about a month (30 days) to fully develop.
The first group of worker wasps that hatch are usually a normal size. But the next groups are often smaller. This is because the queen doesn't go out to find food as much after the first batch of young wasps. With less food coming in, the later groups of young wasps might not get enough to eat. This can make them smaller and spend more time as larvae.
How the Queen Starts a Nest
After waking up from her winter sleep in the spring, the queen looks for flowers to eat and a good place to build a nest. She flies low to the ground, looking for a round, dark spot or a hole. If she finds a hole, she flies inside to check if it's suitable. If not, she moves on. Scientists are still trying to figure out what makes a "perfect" nest spot. It's thought that the queen's own body condition plays a big part in when and where she decides to nest. Once she finds a good spot, she does special wing movements that help her remember the exact location, even after she leaves.
After choosing the spot, she starts building the nest. She brings in chewed wood fibers, mixes them with her saliva to make a pulp, and attaches it to the nest. She repeats this process, building 20 to 30 cells before laying her first eggs. She creates a small stalk, called a petiole, and builds one cell at its end. Then, she adds six more cells around it, making the typical hexagon shape of the nest cells. She lays one egg in each cell. When the eggs hatch, the young wasps hold themselves in the cells by pressing their bodies against the sides.
Once the nest is mostly built and the first workers hatch, the queen's job changes. The workers take over finding food, and the queen focuses only on laying eggs and caring for the young. Her body changes, and she can no longer fly.
Later, the workers start building special cells for new queens. When these queen cells are being built, no more worker cells are made. Most of the food brought in by the workers goes to these young queens. Because other young wasps get less food, they take longer to grow. To make sure only the queen's eggs become adults, female workers remove any eggs laid by other workers. This is called "worker policing."
When the queen has finished producing new queens, she dies. The young, unmated queens then leave the nest, mate, and go into hibernation for the winter. They will start their own nests the following spring. After the old queen dies, the colony becomes disorganized. Workers might start laying eggs, but there isn't enough food to support everyone. This is when workers might eat each other. The workers might also tear off cells and carry them out of the nest, which makes the nest colder. Once this happens, the remaining workers usually die from cold or hunger.
The Wasp Nest
A common wasp nest is made from chewed wood fibers mixed with the workers' saliva. It looks like brittle, tan-colored paper. The nest has open cells and a cylindrical column, or petiole, that attaches it to a surface. Wasps also produce a special chemical that keeps ants away, and they spread it around the base of the petiole to protect the nest from ant attacks.
Wasp nests can look different depending on where they are. Nests built in the air or very close to the ground have thicker outer layers than nests built underground. The wasps build these thick layers to keep heat from escaping. Smaller nests also have thicker outer layers than larger nests. This is because larger nests are better at keeping warm on their own. The best temperature inside the nest is around 32°C (90°F). If it gets too hot, like on a very warm day, the workers use their wings like fans to cool the nest down.
Common wasps recognize their nests by leaving special scent trails, called pheromone trails, from the nest entrance to where they find food. These "footprints" are not unique to one colony but are shared by all common wasps. While other insects like ants also use pheromone trails, common wasps create their scent from special glands in their abdomen or from their gut.
Even though common wasps and German wasps look very similar, their nests are different. German wasp nests can sometimes survive the winter, but common wasp nests usually do not. This is mainly because of what they eat. Common wasp food sources are greatly affected by temperature, while German wasp food sources are not. This gives German wasps a better chance of surviving winter. Because many German wasps can survive winter and most common wasps (except the queen) cannot, this affects the size of their nests. German wasp nests are generally a bit bigger (3,500 to 9,000 young wasps per colony) than common wasp nests (3,000 to 8,000 young wasps).
Wasp Behaviors
Queen's Special Flight
When a queen finds a good place to build her nest, she flies in a special way to remember the spot. She flies back and forth in front of the hole, slowly hovering. She keeps doing this, making wider and wider arcs, until she's about 18 meters (60 feet) away from the nest. At this point, her flight path looks like a sideways "8." Then, she flies in a straight line. This is how the queen common wasp uses landmarks around the nest site to remember where it is.
Defending the Nest
Only wasps leaving the nest seem to notice if there's a problem and will defend against an intruder. Wasps returning to the nest don't usually notice any danger and just try to go inside. Workers that sense danger show a specific behavior: they stand on their tiptoes, push their heads forward, point their abdomens down, and quickly vibrate their wings. This behavior tells other workers to fly to the nest entrance and help defend it. However, if the nest is disturbed too often, the workers might stop defending it and get used to the attacks. But if they sense a very serious threat, common wasps will fiercely protect their nest.
Unlike honey bees, which die after stinging, common wasps can sting many times. This means they can sting to defend themselves even when they are away from the colony. However, they usually won't sting unless someone makes a sudden movement or acts aggressively towards them.
Scientists have found that wasps use smell to identify and attack rival wasps from other colonies. The smell of a nest often changes. Common wasps have been seen fighting aggressively with honey bees over a sweet liquid called honeydew. This honeydew is made by tiny insects called scale insects in some forests in New Zealand.
Surviving Winter
After mating, the queen wasp spends the winter in a hole or another sheltered spot, sometimes even inside buildings. Wasp nests are usually not used again the next year. However, in rare cases, wasps have been seen building a new nest in the same spot where an old one was removed, or even inside an old nest. In the mild climates of New Zealand and Australia, a few colonies might survive the winter, but this is much more common for the German wasp.
Wasp Venom
A common wasp's sting is painful, but it rarely causes a life-threatening reaction. When a wasp stings, it injects a complex liquid called venom. This venom contains different chemicals, including amines (like histamine and serotonin), peptides, and proteins. Wasp venom is alkaline (the opposite of acidic), which is different from bee venom, which is acidic.
What Affects Foraging?
Common wasps go out to find food depending on the light and temperature around them. Generally, if the temperature drops below 2°C (36°F), the wasps won't go out to forage, even if the nest itself is warm. When the temperature is above 2°C, the amount of light becomes important. If there's enough light, the wasps will fly out to find food. However, there's a lot of difference among wasps, and even among individual wasps, about what the perfect light level is for them to go foraging.
Common wasps usually do most of their foraging in the early mornings. There are three main reasons for this. First, they need to feed the young wasps. Workers fly out early as soon as it's light enough to feed the young, who have been hungry all night. Second, they want to get fluids. Dew and nectar, which are good sources of fluids, are most common early in the morning. Workers go out early before other insects compete for these resources. Third, they need to get rid of waste products from the young wasps.
Wasps generally can't predict heavy rain. They will keep foraging even in the rain, but they stop if the rain becomes very heavy. If there's extremely heavy rain near the nest, the workers quickly return home. Wasps whose foraging trips were interrupted by heavy rain might be less likely to go out again in the future, even when the weather is dry and calm. Those who do continue to forage mainly look for fluids.
An adult common wasp usually lives for about two weeks (14 days). Scientists found that older worker wasps fly slower when foraging. They also spend more time inside the nest between each foraging trip as they get older. Wasps that are over 30 days old usually stop foraging completely and spend all their time guarding the entrance of the nest.
What Do Common Wasps Eat?
Like other Vespula wasps, common wasps eat animal prey, such as caterpillars, to feed their growing young. They also eat carbohydrates, like nectar and sweet fruits, to get energy for themselves. Their usual food sources include chewed wood pulp, freshly killed insects like other wasps, butterflies, moths, flies, and spiders. Common wasps will also try to get into honey bee nests to steal their honey.
Even though common wasps and German wasps eat similar things, German wasps generally catch prey that is 2 to 3.5 times bigger and heavier. This is mainly because German wasps are larger than common wasps. Since both types of wasps carry their prey, being bigger helps German wasps carry larger food items.
Wasp Roles in the Colony
In the early stages of building a colony, the queen common wasp does most of the work, both building the nest and finding food. After the nest is fully built, she expands her foraging to include not just pulp, but also fluids and insect meat. The work then divides as the first group of young wasps hatches. However, at the very beginning, the new workers don't do any work. They stay still with their heads inside a cell. Workers actually start actively foraging after about seven days. They both find food and take care of the young wasps by feeding them, breaking down insect meat, sharing fluids collected by other foragers, removing waste from the young, and fixing the nest.
The Queen Wasp
One thing that might decide if a female wasp becomes a queen is where her cell is located in the nest. The location of each cell is directly related to how much food a young wasp gets. The queen cell, which is at the very bottom of the nest, is usually reached by the foragers before any other cell. Because of this, it gets the most food and naturally produces the largest female – the queen.
As mentioned, the cell's location can change the size of the young wasp and eventually decide which female common wasp will become queen. However, if several potential queens grow, they will compete. Certain differences among them help decide which one will be the ultimate queen. We don't know the exact reasons for these differences, but one possible factor is the amount of fat stored in the queen's body. Smaller young queens have less fat stored, so they are more likely to die in winter than larger queens. The bigger the queen and the more fat she has, the "higher quality" she is considered. This gives her an advantage in finding a good mate and starting a nest the following spring.
To control all the workers – which can be more than 3,000 in a colony – the common wasp queen has a special chemical. This chemical sends signals of her dominance. Workers have been seen regularly licking the queen while feeding her. The scent, or pheromone, from the queen's body tells the workers that she is in charge.
Common Wasp as a Pest
Along with the invasive German wasp and three types of Polistes wasps, the common wasp is considered a pest in New Zealand. This is because it preys on native insects in the spring and competes with local species for food, like insects and honeydew. In some beech forests on the South Island of New Zealand, it's believed that there are more common wasps than anywhere else in the world. The total weight of common wasps there might even be more than the total weight of all the birds!
Who Eats Common Wasps?
The common wasp is sometimes eaten by the European honey buzzard. This bird digs up wasp nests to get to the young wasps. The hoverfly Volucella pellucens and some of its relatives lay their eggs in a wasp nest. Their young then eat the wasp larvae and dead adult wasps. The larvae of a beetle called Metoecus paradoxus are also parasites of common wasp larvae. Robber flies and spiders also prey on common wasps and many other insect species. In 1988, a type of parasitic mite, Varroa destructor jacobsoni, was found on common wasp larvae in Poland.
Images for kids
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A close-up image of a queen wasp's stinger, seen through a microscope.
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A very detailed image of a common wasp's antenna surface, taken with an electron microscope.
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A queen wasp returning to her nest.
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A close-up of a common wasp's face.
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A male common wasp.
See also
In Spanish: Avispa común para niños
