median wasp
dolichovespula media latin

The swarms of Scandinavian median wasps resemble hornets and have a painful sting.

Queen median wasps resemble V. crabro too having a mainly yellowish-orange colouration.

The median wasp is found throughout the Palearctic from Great Britain to Japan in temperate regions.

Like the median wasp 'Dolichovespula media' in Europe, bald-faced hornets are extremely protective of their nests and will sting repeatedly if disturbed.

The median wasp, Dolichovespula media, is a wasp of the genus Dolichovespula native to Europe.

Median wasps build nests in aerial sites, almost always suspended from the branches of trees and shrubs, from ground level to a height of several metres.

The median wasp is a large, social wasp, it is the second largest British wasp with only the European hornet Vespa crabro being larger.

A single male median wasp was found in Raglan, Waikato, New Zealand but no other specimens have been found in New Zealand.

The median wasp is very catholic in its choice of habitat but it prefers lowland areas and in the recently colonized Great Britain the majority nests are from private gardens, often from major conurbations.

In August 1998, seven children from London on a course run by a special needs charity were taken to the Norfolk and Norwich Hospital after being stung by a swarm of non-native Median wasps.

A useful feature, in all castes, for identifying median wasps from other social wasps are the yellow markings on the anterior part of the thorax which are said to resemble the NIKE logo, or when viewed from above look like two mirrored numeral 7s.

The median wasp, Dolichovespula media, is a wasp of the genus Dolichovespula native to Europe.