northeast-flora-and-fauna

Bees aren't our only pollinators, as this Dark Paper Wasp demonstrates. The paper wasps are generally considered less aggressive than yellowjackets and hornets  but will sting if they get the impression they or their nests are threatened. Though named the Dark Paper Wasp, its darkness varies geographically. Generally speaking, well north of me (southern Canada or northern New York/New England) the yellow stripes will be on a black abdomen, while south of me (southern US) they tend to look more reddish. These wasps are considered eusocial : they cooperate in raising young, multiple generations live together, and there's some specialization of duties. They're not as eusocial as some insects where soldiers, foragers, and tending to their young are distinctive jobs. Their lifecycle is basically like this: At the end of summer, males and reproductive females grow to adulthood. This generation of males/females breed. The males then die while the new females congregate someplac...

Here's another invader insect, the European Paper Wasp . Despite the name, its home range really extends from Europe to North Africa to China. It somehow invaded the US in the 1980s and is growing in numbers since then. These guys are true paper wasps , another sibling group to the yellowjackets and hornets . Technically the term paper wasp is misleading since other types of wasps (like those yellowjackets and hornets) make papery nests, but that remains their common name. Unlike many other paper wasps, it doesn't rely on caterpillars as food for their larvae; their larvae will eat other (chewed up) insects as well. Being a non-fussy eater is very helpful if you're suddenly living in a new part of the planet without familiar food sources. I suspect that's part of the reason it's been successful here. Despite growing in numbers, I don't (yet) see them a lot. Or maybe I do; they're pretty easy to mistake for our yellowjackets. I'm told to look for orangis...