Species

Dolichovespula maculata (Bald-faced hornet)

Dolichovespula maculata. Photo: (c) Amy Schnebelin, some rights reserved (CC BY)

iNaturalist • Wikipedia

Dolichovespula maculata is a eusocial wasp of the cosmopolitan family Vespidae. Its colloquial names include the bald-faced hornet, bald hornet, white-faced hornet, white-tailed hornet, spruce wasp, blackjacket, and bull wasp. This species is a yellowjacket wasp, not a true hornet (genus Vespa). Colonies contain 400 to 700 workers, the largest recorded colony size in its genus, Dolichovespula. It builds a characteristic large hanging paper nest up to 58 centimetres (23 in) in length. Workers aggressively defend…

Humboldt Life
- Kingdom: Animalia (Animals)
  - Phylum: Arthropoda (Arthropods)
    - Subphylum: Hexapoda (Hexapods)
      - Class: Insecta (Insects)
        Subclass: Pterygota (Winged and once-winged insects)
        Order: Hymenoptera (Ants, bees, wasps, and sawflies)
        Suborder: Apocrita (Narrow-waisted wasps, ants, and bees)
        Infraorder: Aculeata (Ants, bees, and stinging wasps)
        Superfamily: Vespoidea (Vespoid wasps)
        Family: Vespidae (Hornets, paper wasps, potter wasps, and allies)
        Subfamily: Vespinae (Hornets and yellowjackets)
        Genus: Dolichovespula (Aerial yellowjackets)
        Species: Dolichovespula maculata (Bald-faced hornet)

Sightings

Where in Humboldt

Discussion

PLEASE SHARE YOUR THOUGHTS ABOUT DOLICHOVESPULA MACULATA, THE BALD-FACED HORNET