Common wasp
The common wasp is the black and yellow wasp that buzzes around picnics in late summer. It lives in a big family with a queen and thousands of workers. Together they build a round nest out of thin, papery material.
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Fun facts
In spring, a queen starts the nest all by herself in a hollow tree, a wall or an old animal hole.
A queen can lay 200 to 300 eggs a day, and a nest can raise up to 8,000 young wasps.
Look at its face: it has one black mark shaped like an anchor. Its cousin, the German wasp, has three black dots instead.
In autumn the nest falls apart. Only the new queens survive and sleep through the winter.
In some parts of England, people call common wasps jaspers.
Most asked questions about Common wasp
?Why do wasps come to picnics?
They love sweet food and drinks, especially in late summer. Keep food covered and stay calm.
?How big is a common wasp?
Workers are 1.2 to 1.7 centimetres long. The queen is about 2 centimetres.
?What is a wasp nest made of?
Thin layers of a tan, papery material that the wasps make themselves.
For bug experts
- Scientific name
- Vespula vulgaris
- Named by
- Linnaeus, 1758
- Group
- Wasps and hornets
- Family
- Vespidae
- Classification
- Insecta > Hymenoptera > Vespidae
- Lives on
- Europe, Asia, Australia and Oceania, South America
- Also known as
- European wasp, Common yellow jacket, Jasper
Where the facts come from
- Vespula vulgaris (Wikipedia, CC BY-SA 4.0): what it looks like, where it lives, what it eats, sizes and fun facts, retold in simple words.
- Picture by Magne Flåten. CC BY-SA 3.0, Wikimedia Commons. The round sticker of this bug is cut from the same picture.
If we got something wrong, sorry, we are bug fans, not a science journal. Tell us at [email protected] and we will fix it.
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