Stats

Lifespan

A few weeks

Size

Small

Diet

Omnivore

Activity

Diurnal

Social

Colony

Biome

Temperate forest

Range

North America

Movement

Flight

Breeding

Egg-laying

Defense

Venom

Status

Uncommon

About

The Southern Yellowjacket is a social wasp common across the southeastern and eastern United States, nesting underground in colonies that can swell to tens of thousands of workers by late summer. Queens are notable for sometimes taking over rival yellowjacket nests, killing the resident queen and enslaving her workforce to raise their own brood.

Life cycle

1. 1.
   egg

   A small egg is laid on or near the larval food source and hatches within days or weeks.
2. 2.
   juvenile

   An immature insect feeds and molts, growing through successive instars.
3. 3.
   subadult

   A near-adult insect has wing buds or near-mature form, one molt away from full size.
4. 4.
   adult

   Fully grown, with full wings and adult coloration.

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Taxonomy

Kingdom

Animalia

Phylum

Arthropoda

Class

Insecta

Order

Hymenoptera

Family

Vespidae

Genus

Vespula

Species

Vespula squamosa