Head to head
Common Wasp vs Yellow Jacket
Common Wasp
VS Yellow Jacket
The common wasp and the yellow jackets are closely linked: the common wasp is one of the yellowjacket species, and the group name is the one used in North America.
| Common Wasp | Yellow Jacket | |
|---|---|---|
| Scientific name | Vespula vulgaris | Vespula (a genus of many species) |
| Relationship | A yellowjacket species, in the genus Vespula | The group of wasps in the genus Vespula, which includes the common wasp |
| Look | A black and yellow banded body with a black, anchor-shaped mark on its yellow face | A smooth, largely hairless body with bold black-and-yellow banding, unlike the fuzzy bodies of bees |
| Sting | A painful sting when the nest is disturbed | A smooth stinger with no barb, allowing it to sting multiple times without dying |
| Colony | A nest of chewed wood fibre, often underground or in a roof space, with several thousand workers by late summer | A colony of several thousand workers by late summer, all supporting a single founding queen, often nesting underground or in cavities |
| Winter | Only the new queens survive the winter, while the old nest, workers, and males all die | Almost the entire colony dies with cold weather, and only newly mated queens survive the winter |
| Range | Woodland, farmland, parks, and gardens across Europe and temperate Asia, introduced to New Zealand, Australia, and parts of the Americas | Grassland and forest across much of North America, Europe, and Asia |
| Conservation status | Not Evaluated globally | Least Concern |
Common Wasp vs Yellow Jacket: common questions
Is the common wasp a yellow jacket?
Yes, the common wasp is one of the yellowjacket species, in the genus Vespula, though in Europe it is usually just called a wasp.
Can yellow jackets sting more than once?
Yes, they have a smooth stinger with no barb, so they can sting multiple times without dying.
Why do yellow jackets raid picnics?
They readily scavenge sugary drinks, meat, and other human food, especially in late summer.