Common Wasp

The common wasp is a social wasp in the family Vespidae, genus Vespula, native to Europe and parts of Asia and North Africa, and now also established in regions such as Australia and New Zealand where it was introduced. It is one of the most frequently encountered social wasps across much of its range, especially in gardens and populated areas in late summer.

Colonies are founded each spring by a single overwintered queen, who builds a small paper nest and rears the first batch of worker wasps. Through summer, the colony can grow to include several thousand workers, all sterile females that forage, defend, and expand the nest, before producing new queens and males in late summer.

Common wasps are important predators of other insects, particularly caterpillars and flies, which they capture to feed their larvae, making them a natural part of pest regulation in gardens and farmland even though they are themselves often regarded as a nuisance around outdoor food.

• Black body with bold yellow bands across the abdomen and yellow markings on the thorax.
• Distinctive black anchor- or dagger-shaped mark on the yellow face (clypeus), a key feature separating it from similar yellowjackets.
• Slender waist typical of vespid wasps, with a smooth, non-hairy body distinguishing it from bees.
• Clear wings folded lengthwise along the body at rest.
• Lookalikes: the German yellowjacket is very similar in size and color but usually has three black dots on the face instead of an anchor mark, along with slightly different abdominal spotting.

The common wasp is native across Europe, temperate Asia, and North Africa, and has become established in parts of the Southern Hemisphere including Australia, New Zealand, and South America. It nests in a wide variety of sites, including underground cavities, wall voids, tree hollows, and sheltered structures, and is common in gardens, parks, woodlands, and urban environments. Colonies are active from spring through autumn, with worker numbers and food-foraging activity peaking in late summer.

Workers forage for insect prey, particularly caterpillars and flies, which they chew up to feed to the colony's larvae, while also collecting nectar and, in late summer, seeking out sugary substances such as ripe fruit. The colony builds a papery nest from chewed wood fiber, with layers of hexagonal cells housed inside a protective outer envelope. Common wasps communicate and cooperate within the colony and will defend the nest if it is disturbed, though away from the nest they are primarily focused on foraging.

A mated queen overwinters alone and emerges in spring to found a new colony, laying the first eggs that develop into worker wasps through complete metamorphosis (egg, larva, pupa, adult). Workers then take over foraging and nest-building duties while the queen continues laying eggs, and the colony grows through summer. In late summer, the colony produces new queens and males, which mate before the old colony declines; only newly mated queens survive the winter to start the cycle again the following spring.