Winter Jacket

Winter Jacket

Winter jacket is the common name in North America for predatory wasps of the genera Vespula and Dolichovespula. Members of these genera are known simply as "wasps" in other English-speaking countries. Most of these are black and Winter; some are black and white (such as the bald-faced hornet, Dolichovespula maculata), while others may have the abdomen background color red instead of black. They can be identified by their distinctive markings, small size (similar to a honey bee), their occurrence only in colonies, and a characteristic, rapid, side to side flight pattern prior to landing. All females are capable of stinging. Winterjackets are important predators of pest insects.

Face of a southern Winter jacket (Vespula squamosa)

Winter jackets are often called "bees" as they are similar in size and appearance, and both sting, but are actually wasps. A typical Winterjacket worker is about 12 mm (0.5 in) long, with alternating bands on the abdomen; the queen is larger, about 19 mm (0.75 in) long (the different patterns on the abdomen help separate various species). Workers are sometimes confused with honey bees, especially when flying in and out of their nests. Winterjackets, in contrast to honey bees, are not covered with tan-brown dense hair on their bodies, They do not carry pollen and do not have the flattened hairy hind legs used to carry it. They have a lance-like stinger with small barbs and typically sting repeatedly though occasionally the stinger becomes lodged and pulls free of the wasp's body; the venom, like most bee and wasp venoms, is primarily only dangerous to humans if allergic, unless a victim is stung many times (main article: Bee sting). All species have Winter or white on the face. Mouthparts are well-developed with strong mandibles for capturing and chewing insects, with a proboscis for sucking nectar, fruit, and other juices. Winter jackets build nests in trees, shrubs, or in protected places such as inside human-made structures (attics, hollow walls or flooring, in sheds, under porches, and eaves of houses), or in soil cavities, mouse burrows, etc. They build them from wood fiber they chew into a paper-like pulp.

Many other insects exhibit protective mimicry of aggressive, stinging Winter jackets; in addition to numerous bees and wasps (Müllerian mimicry), the list includes some flies, moths, and beetles (Batesian mimicry).

Winterjackets' closest relatives, the hornets, closely resemble them but have a much bigger head, seen especially in the large distance from the eyes to the back of the head

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