1518 Hymenoptera in America North of Mexico 



of the insects used to feed vespine larvae; apparently dismembered and masticated adult Dip- 

 tera and honeybees are commonly used; the wasps may also obtain bits of flesh from fresh and 

 decaying carcasses. Adult vespines feed on liquid foods, primarily nectar or honey; some species 

 are known to prey upon adult honeybees, which they kill and extract nectar from the crop. 



Revision: Bequaert, 1932. Ent. Amer. (n. s.) 12: 71-138, 6 figs. (N. Amer. taxa). 



Taxonomy: McFarland, 1888. Amer. Ent. Soc, Trans. 15: 297 (key). —Bequaert, 1930. 



Brooklyn Ent. Soc, Bui. 25: 59-70 (generic and subgeneric classification). —Bequaert, 1935. 

 Brooklyn Ent. Soc, Bui. 30: 119-124 (check list, correction, additions). —Duncan, 1939. 

 Stanford Univ., Pubs., Univ. Ser. Biol. Sci. 8 (1): 85-97 (genera). —Bequaert, 1941. 

 Brooklyn Ent. Soc, Bui. 36: 111-117 (corrections, additions). 



Biology: Duncan, 1939. Stanford Univ., Pubs., Univ. Ser. Biol. Sci. 8 (1): 98-176 (composite 

 summary for American spp.). 



Genus VESPA Linnaeus 



Vespa Linnaeus, 1758. Syst. Nat., ed. 10, v. 1, p. 343. 



Type-species: Vespa crabro Linnaeus. Desig. by Lamarck, J801. 

 Macrovespa Dalla Torre, 1904. In Wytsman, Gen. Ins., fasc. 19, p. 64. 



Type-species: Vespa crabro Linnaeus. Desig. by Bequaert, 1980. 



The giant hornets are conspicuous members of the wasp fauna in the Palaearctic and Oriental 

 Regions; one taxon is adventive in North America. The species of Vespa are quite diverse in 

 nesting habits; some construct aerial nests in trees, others nest in sheltered sites above ground, 

 such as in hollow trees, and still others are subterranean. The nests, especially in exposed situa- 

 tions, are usually enclosed in a paper envelope. 



crabro germana Christ. Ont., Mass., R. I., Conn., N. Y., N. J., Pa., Del., Md., D. C, Va., N. C, S. 

 C, Ga., Ala., W. Va., Ohio, Ind., Ky., Tenn., Wis., N. Dak., S. Dak.; central and western 

 Europe. Ecology: Nests in very sheltered sites above ground, frequently in hollow trees, 

 attics, porches, sheds, and rarely in underground cavities; exposed nests have a 

 complete paper envelope, but in quite sheltered sites the envelope may be only partial 

 or completely lacking. Adventive from Europe in mid-1800's. The official common name 

 is the giant hornet; in some rural areas of the mid-Atlantic states it is known as the 

 hybrid bee. Typical crabro L. and other subspecies occur in the Palaearctic Region. 



Vespa crabro germana Christ, 1791. Naturgesch. Insekt. Bienen, Wespen u. 

 Ameisengeschl., p. 215. 



Vespa crabro vulgata Birula, 1925. Arch. f. Naturgesch. 90, Abt. A, H. 12, p. 100. 9,^,6. 



Taxonomy: Bequaert, 1931. Konowia 10: 101-109 (color forms of crabro L. with key). 



Biology: Beutenmuller, 1898. N. Y. Ent. Soc, Jour. 6: 199, pis. 9-10 (nest). —Felt, 1915. N. Y. 

 State Mus., Bui. 180: 71-73, pi. 2 (nest). —Cory, 1931. Jour. Econ. Ent. 24: 50-52 (nest, 

 injury to lilac, apples). — Ikan et al., 1969. Jour. Insect Physiol. 15: 1703-1712 (queen 

 pheromones). — Islay and Schaudinschky, 1973. Acoust. Soc Amer., Jour. 53: 640-649 

 (acoustical communication). 



Morphology: Snodgrass, 1941. Smithsn. Inst., Misc. Coll. 99 (14): 49-50, pi. 17, figs. I-Q, pi. 18, 

 figs. A-D (male genitalia). 



Genus VESPULA Thomson 



These smaller social vespines are restricted to the Holarctic Region. 



Revision: Miller, 1961. Canad. Ent., Sup. 22, v. 93: 1-52, 84 figs., 15 maps. 



Taxonomy: Sladen, 1918. Ottawa Nat. 32: 71-72 (key to Canadian spp.). —Miller, 1958 (1956). 

 Tenth Internatl. Cong. Ent., Proc. 1: 257-264 (nomenclature and distribution). — Fluno, 

 1973. Ent. Soc. Wash., Proc. 75: 80-83, 1 fig. (differentiation of subgenera by attraction to 

 chemical). 



Biology: Taylor, 1939. Ent. Soc. Amer., Ann. 32: 304-315 (origin and evolution of social 

 parasitism). —Gaul, 1941. Psyche 48: 16-19 (artificial housing of colonies). —Gaul, 1942. 



