Dolichovespula is a small genus

Genus

In biology, a genus is a low-level taxonomic rank used in the biological classification of living and fossil organisms, which is an example of definition by genus and differentia...

 of social wasp

Wasp

The term wasp is typically defined as any insect of the order Hymenoptera and suborder Apocrita that is neither a bee nor an ant. Almost every pest insect species has at least one wasp species that preys upon it or parasitizes it, making wasps critically important in natural control of their...

s distributed widely throughout the Northern Hemisphere

Northern Hemisphere

The Northern Hemisphere is the half of a planet that is north of its equator—the word hemisphere literally means “half sphere”. It is also that half of the celestial sphere north of the celestial equator...

. The yellow and black members of the genus are known by the common name

Common name

A common name of a taxon or organism is a name in general use within a community; it is often contrasted with the scientific name for the same organism...

 yellowjacket

Yellowjacket

Yellowjacket 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...

s (or yellow-jackets) in North America

North America

North America is a continent wholly within the Northern Hemisphere and almost wholly within the Western Hemisphere. It is also considered a northern subcontinent of the Americas...

 along with members of their sister genus Vespula

Vespula

Vespula is a small genus of social wasps, widely distributed in the Northern Hemisphere. Along with members of their sister genus Dolichovespula, they are collectively known by the common name yellowjackets in North America...

. Others like the Bald-faced hornet

Bald-faced hornet

Dolichovespula maculata is a North American insect commonly called the bald-faced hornet...

 are black and white.

A set of morphological differences distinguishes them from Vespula. The most noticeable is the long face (dolikhos = long Gr.). Viewed from the front Dolichovespula faces are long, Vespula faces are short and round. The oculo-malar space is the distance between the eye and the mandible. In Dolichovespula the space is long, in Vespula short.

Dolichovespula nests are usually aerial while Vespula often nest underground.

Species

• Dolichovespula adulterina (Buysson, 1905), Parasitic Yellowjacket
• Dolichovespula alpicola Eck 1984, Rocky Mountain Aerial Yellowjacket
• Dolichovespula arenaria (Fabricius, 1775), Aerial Yellowjacket
• Dolichovespula asiatica Archer, 1981
• Dolichovespula baileyi Archer, 1987
• Dolichovespula carolina (Linnaeus, 1767)
• Dolichovespula flora Archer, 1987
• Dolichovespula kuami Kim, 1996
• Dolichovespula lama (Buysson, 1903)
• Dolichovespula maculata (Linnaeus, 1763), Bald-faced hornet
• Dolichovespula media (Retz., 1783), Median wasp
• Dolichovespula norvegicoides (Sladen, 1918), Arctic Yellowjacket
• Dolichovespula norwegica (Fabricius 1781)
• Dolichovespula omissa (Bischoff, 1931)
• Dolichovespula pacifica (Bir., 1930)
• Dolichovespula panda Archer, 1980
• Dolichovespula saxonica (Fabricius, 1793)
• Dolichovespula silvestris (Scopoli, 1763)
• Dolichovespula stigma Lee 1986
• Dolichovespula sylvestris (Scopoli, 1763), Tree wasp
• Dolichovespula xanthicincta Archer, 1980