Dolichovespula maculata

Not to be confused with the similarly colored Monobia quadridens.

Bald-faced hornet
Scientific classification Edit this classification
Domain: Eukaryota
Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Arthropoda
Class: Insecta
Order: Hymenoptera
Family: Vespidae
Subfamily: Vespinae
Genus: Dolichovespula
Species:
D. maculata
Binomial name
Dolichovespula maculata
Synonyms
  • Vespa maculata

Dolichovespula maculata is a species of wasp in the genus Dolichovespula and a member of the eusocial, cosmopolitan family Vespidae. It is taxonomically an aerial yellowjacket but is known by many colloquial names, primarily bald-faced hornet, but also including bald-faced aerial yellowjacket, bald-faced wasp, bald hornet, white-faced hornet, blackjacket, white-tailed hornet, spruce wasp, and bull wasp. Technically a species of yellowjacket wasp, it is not one of the true hornets, which are in the genus Vespa. Colonies contain 400 to 700 workers, the largest recorded colony size in its genus, Dolichovespula.[1] It builds a characteristic large hanging paper nest up to 58 cm (23 in) in length. Workers aggressively defend their nest by repeatedly stinging invaders.[2]

The bald-faced hornet is distributed throughout the United States and southern Canada, but is most common in the Southeastern United States. Males in this species are haploid and females are diploid. Worker females can, therefore, lay eggs that develop into males.

  1. ^ Cite error: The named reference Foster-et-al-2001 was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  2. ^ Foster, Steven; Caras, Roger; Peterson, Roger Tory (1998), A Field Guide to Venomous Animals and Poisonous Plants, North America, North of Mexico, Houghton Mifflin Harcourt, p. 48, ISBN 0-395-93608-X, retrieved 2010-03-03