Field Guide
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Common Wasp
Vespula vulgaris
Not yet photographed by the community
Yellow-and-black social wasp; queen starts new colony each spring.
Species Profile
Not listed; not assessed under UK conservation frameworks as abundant and widespread
- Lifespan
- Workers 12–22 weeks; queens up to 12 months
- Size & Weight
- 10–14 mm long; no wingspan measurement as insects are measured by body length
- Habitat
- Gardens, parks, woodlands, and urban areas; nests in cavities such as roof spaces, wall cavities, and underground burrows
- UK Distribution
- Found throughout the UK, from southern England to Scotland; resident year-round with colonies active spring to autumn
- Diet
- Adults feed on sugary substances including nectar, fruit, and human food waste; larvae fed on insects and meat
- Prey
- Small insects, larvae, and carrion; also scavenges protein from human food
- Predators
- Badgers, hedgehogs, great spotted woodpeckers, and parasitic flies; also preyed upon by European hornet
- Mating Season
- August to October
- Breeding
- Queen lays eggs in hexagonal paper cells; worker brood develops in 12–14 days; colonies produce up to 5,000 individuals by late summer
- Behaviour
- Highly social insects living in colonies with a single queen and sterile female workers. Colonies are seasonal, collapsing in autumn with only new queens surviving winter to establish new colonies in spring. Known for aggressive defence of nests and attraction to human food and drink.
- •Common wasps can sting multiple times as their stinger is smooth, unlike honeybees
- •A single colony can contain 5,000–10,000 workers by peak summer
- •They build papery nests by chewing wood fibres and mixing with saliva
- •Wasps are important predators of pest insects, consuming large quantities of flies and caterpillars
- •Only new queens survive winter; all workers and males die when temperatures drop in autumn
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