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German Wasp
*** Shopping-Tip: German Wasp
{{Taxobox
| color = pink
| name = German wasp
| image = German wasp.JPG
| image_width = 250px
| image_caption = A dead German wasp, magnified through a disection microscope.
| regnum =
Animalia
| phylum =
Arthropoda
| classis =
Insecta
| ordo =
Hymenoptera
| subordo =
Apocrita
| familia =
Vespidae
| genus = ''
yellowjacket Vespula''
| species = '''''V. germanica'''''
| binomial = ''Vespula germanica''
| binomial_authority = (
Johan Christian Fabricius Fabricius, 1793)
}}
The '''German wasp''', ''Vespula germanica'' is a
wasp found in much of the Northern Hemisphere, and introduced to
Australia and
New Zealand. It is a
paper wasp, which builds its grey paper nest underground, sometimes using an abandoned
mouse hole as a start for the site, which is then enlarged by the workers.
The nest is made from chewed plant fibres, mixed with saliva. It has open cells and a
petiole attaching the nest to the substrate. The wasps produce a chemical which repels
ants and secrete it around the base of this petiole in order to avoid ant predation.
A solitary female queen starts the nest, building 20-30 cells before initial egg-laying. This phase begins in spring, depending on climatic conditions. She fashions a petiole and produce a single cell at the end of it. Six further cells are then added around this to produce the characteristic hexagonal shape of the nest cells.
Once the larvae have hatched as workers, they take up most of the colony’s foraging, brood care and nest maintenance. A finished nest may be 20-30 cm across and contain 3,000 individuals.
Each wasp
colony includes one
queen (insect) queen and a number of sterile workers. Colonies usually last only one year, all but the queen dying at the onset of winter. However, in the mild climate of New Zealand, 10% of the colonies survive the winter. New queens and males (
drones) are produced towards the end of the summer, and after mating, the queen overwinters in a crack or other sheltered location.
The German wasp is 16-19 mm long, and has typical wasp colours of black and yellow. It is very similar to the
common wasp, but seen head on, its face has three black dots.
This common and widespread wasp collects
insects including
caterpillars to feed to its larvae, and is therefore generally beneficial. The adults feed on
nectar and sweet fruit.
The nests are subject to predation by the
Honey Buzzard, which excavates them to obtain the larva. The
flower-fly hoverfly ''
Volucella pellucens'' and some of its relatives lay their eggs in the wasp nest, and the larva feeds on the wasp’s young.
Pest status
The German wasp is considered to be a pest in New Zealand. It is common in the
Nothofagus beech forest since it is one of the two wasps that feeds on the
honeydew exuded by a native scale insect which lives in the bark of the trees. It has a serious effect on the forest
ecology since there is less honeydew available for the native birds.
{{Commons|Category:Vespula|German wasp}}
Category:Vespoidea
de:Deutsche Wespe
fr:Vespula vulgaris
see
German wasp
*** Shopping-Tip: German Wasp
