Family Vespidae

     =================== Euparagiinae (subfamily)
     |
<<===|  ================ Masarinae <pollen wasps> 
     ===|
        |  ============= Eumeninae <potter wasps>   
        ===|
           |      ====== Stenogastrinae <hover wasps> 
           ===x===| 
                  |  === Polistinae <paper wasps> 
                  ===|
                     === Vespinae <hornets & yellowjackets> 

x = social vespids

Subfamily Euparagiinae (1 genus 9 spp SW Neartic)

Subfamily Masarinae <pollen wasps> (19 genera ca. 250 spp, Australia, S.Afr., Neotropics, USA, Mediterranean)

Subfamily Eumeninae <potter wasps> (184 genera ca. 3000 spp, Cosmopolitan)

<Social Vespid>

Subfamily Stenogastrinae <hover wasps> (6 genera ca. 50 spp, Oriental Tropics)

Type I: independent founders: colonies are initiated by one or many inseminated queens, independently of any workers, many switching foundresses, one egg layer (monogyny)

Colony founding and life cycle: after colony founding, one of the founding queens typically becomes the sole egg layer, reproductive dominance is controlled by direct physical attacks by the queen, queens enter a solitary phase after insemination, lasting from 1-2 days in equatorial tropics to several months in more seasonal tropics to the whole winter in temperate region, independent founders colonize a new nest gradually, co-foundresses arrive one by one and shift among newly founded nests in the early stage ovipositing.

Foraging habit: larvae are progressively fed with chewed prey, adults feed foral or extrafloral nectar or honeydew

independent founders

PS: Map from Ross, K.G., Matthews, R.W. (eds.) 1991. The Social Biology of Wasps. Cornell University Press, Ithaca, NY.

Subfamily Polistinae <paper wasps> (29 genera ca. 800 spp, Cosmopolitan)

Type I: independent founders: colonies are initiated by one or many inseminated queens, independently of any workers, many switching foundresses, one egg layer (monogyny)

Colony founding and life cycle: after colony founding, one of the founding queens typically becomes the sole egg layer, reproductive dominance is controlled by direct physical attacks by the queen, queens enter a solitary phase after insemination, lasting from 1-2 days in equatorial tropics to several months in more seasonal tropics to the whole winter in temperate region, independent founders colonize a new nest gradually, co-foundresses arrive one by one and shift among newly founded nests in the early stage (Polistes, Mischocyttarus, Belonogaster, Parapolybia and most species of Ropalidia)

Foraging habit: larvae are progressively fed with chewed prey, adults feed foral or extrafloral nectar or honeydew.

independent founder (Polistes)

independent founders (Mischocyttarus, Belonogaster, Parapolybia and most species of Ropalidia)

Type II: swarm founders: colonies are initiated by a swarm, consisting of a large number of workers accompanied by a small number of queens, reproductive dominance is controlled by pheromones (major Polistinae), many foundresses (pleometric) with workers' company, many egg layers (permanent polygyny)

 swarm founders

Colony founding and life cycle: Queens of swarm founders are never without the company of workers. They are unique in having socialized all stages of the colony cycle, including dispersal and founding. The workers choose the nest site and build it, while the queens wait idly until enough cells are completed for them to ovipositing. True swarm, less seasonal.

Foraging habit: larvae are progressively fed with chewed prey, adults feed foral or extrafloral nectar or honeydew.

Nest structure: great structural diversity and complexity.

Subfamily Vespinae <hornets & yellowjackets>

(4 genera ca. 60 spp, Holartic and Oriental Tropics)

Type III: Vespine founders: queens of most species found colonies alone, reproductive dominance involves pheromone, one to many foundresses, one to many egg layers

     =============== Vespa (genus)
     |
<<===|  ============ Provespa 
     ===|
        |  ========= Dolichovespula   
        ===|
           ========= Vespula 

 Genus Vespa &  Provespa

 Genus Dolichovespula & Vespula (temporate social wasps)

Colony founding and life cycle: 1) Queens emerge in early spring warm days. Queens build small paper nests alone without any workers' help. Lay eggs as 1st generation of workers (infertile female), feed these larvae by the queen; 2) workers rear brood, while the queen just focuses on laying eggs; 3) colony size up to 5,000 workers and 10,000-15,000 cells, maximize in late fall; 4) New males and queens are reared inspecial large cells. Workers become unpredictive. Nest disbands; 5) new males mate with new queen, males die, inseminated queens hibernate; 6) abondon old nest.

Foraging habit: predators catch prey in flight, kill prey by biting with jaws, fast fliers both horizontally and vertically, no stinging, young larvae fed on flies, caterpillars and bugs, adults eat sugar as carbohydrate sources such as rotting fruit, short tongues, need to get sugar from saliva of grubs in nest (trophallaxis).

Nest type: 1) underground soil burrow, house wall, 2) open environment: in trees or under roof.

Nest structure: built by wood fibers, which are scraped from bark, chewed up, mixed with saliva, spread out to form sheets of paper; completely enclosed except a small bottom opening; start from an umbralla-like dome; finally end with 8 tiers in a ball shape, covered with thin sheets of paper.