Diptera.info :: Identification queries :: Other insects, spiders, etc.
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 Vespidae
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| Rui Andrade |
Posted on 15-10-2007 19:47
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 Member Location: Portugal Posts: 3122 Joined: 19.06.07 |
Hi! I have been having some trouble in telling apart the two genera Vespula and Dolichovespula and the different species inside of each genus. I'll show you here two different specimens: the specimen from the 1st and 2nd photo was seen by me on 2006/09/23 and the 3rd photo was taken on 2006/08/20 (I don't have a photo showing the face). Are these two individuals from the same species? How can I tell apart the two genera and the different species? Thank you location: Barcelos, Portugal   
Edited by Rui Andrade on 15-10-2007 19:49 |
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| cthirion |
Posted on 15-10-2007 20:00
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Member Location: Awirs (Flémalle) Belgique Posts: 901 Joined: 13.08.04 |
Vespula germanica 2=male 3=queen cthirion |
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| Rui Andrade |
Posted on 15-10-2007 20:09
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Member Location: Portugal Posts: 3122 Joined: 19.06.07 |
Thank you, cthirion What characters do I need to look for? |
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| cthirion |
Posted on 15-10-2007 20:50
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Member Location: Awirs (Flémalle) Belgique Posts: 901 Joined: 13.08.04 |
Gaster dorsally, clypeus!
cthirion |
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| Rui Andrade |
Posted on 15-10-2007 21:05
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Member Location: Portugal Posts: 3122 Joined: 19.06.07 |
Thank you I already knew the "face" was important to the identification, but telling apart the most common species from Vespula and Dolichovespula gets me crazy  .It is V. germanica because the three spots in the clypeus, right? |
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| Isidro |
Posted on 15-10-2007 21:27
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Member Location: Zaragoza, Spain Posts: 2057 Joined: 26.04.07 |
Right. |
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| Rui Andrade |
Posted on 15-10-2007 21:34
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Member Location: Portugal Posts: 3122 Joined: 19.06.07 |
Thank you, Isidro ! |
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| cthirion |
Posted on 16-10-2007 09:42
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Member Location: Awirs (Flémalle) Belgique Posts: 901 Joined: 13.08.04 |
Not right, other specie with that on clypeus! germanica with one spot only on clypeus
cthirion |
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| Isidro |
Posted on 16-10-2007 12:46
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Member Location: Zaragoza, Spain Posts: 2057 Joined: 26.04.07 |
All V. germanica that I've seen have three spots... What's the other species thit three spots also? |
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| Tony T |
Posted on 16-10-2007 14:01
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 Member Location: New Brunswick, Canada Posts: 662 Joined: 08.02.07 |
Rui Andrade wrote: I have been having some trouble in telling apart the two genera Vespula and Dolichovespula I wrote an article on North American species. Here is 1 of the figures: Vespula has narrow oculo-malar space; wide in Dolichovespula, Also D. has a yellow vertical line on thorax. Tony T attached the following image:  [17.81Kb] |
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| jorgemotalmeida |
Posted on 16-10-2007 16:33
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 Member Location: Viseu - PORTUGAL Posts: 9296 Joined: 05.06.06 |
Great stuff, Tony! Thank you. This is a very valuable tool! Let me know if Vespa crabro exists in Canada. Here they are pretty common. Big wasps and awesome! |
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| Rui Andrade |
Posted on 16-10-2007 18:12
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Member Location: Portugal Posts: 3122 Joined: 19.06.07 |
Thank you all Tony, those are great pictures, as usual . |
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| Christian Schmid-Egger |
Posted on 16-10-2007 21:15
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Member Location: Germany, Berlin Posts: 233 Joined: 05.08.05 |
Vespula germanica is also to recognize by the color pattern of tergum I. Look for the anchor like spot. It works in 98% of the females. V. vulgaris normally has a continuus black band on tergum I. For me, all three specimens are females (workers or queens). Regards, Christian |
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| Rui Andrade |
Posted on 17-10-2007 08:30
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Member Location: Portugal Posts: 3122 Joined: 19.06.07 |
Thank you for this new valuable information Christian . |
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| cthirion |
Posted on 17-10-2007 19:19
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Member Location: Awirs (Flémalle) Belgique Posts: 901 Joined: 13.08.04 |
"V. vulgaris normally has a continuus black band on tergum I." except Vespula vulgaris pseudogermanica!
cthirion |
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| Rui Andrade |
Posted on 17-10-2007 19:25
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Member Location: Portugal Posts: 3122 Joined: 19.06.07 |
cthirion wrote: "V. vulgaris normally has a continuus black band on tergum I." except Vespula vulgaris pseudogermanica! And does this subspecies exist in Portugal? |
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| Christian Schmid-Egger |
Posted on 18-10-2007 06:50
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Member Location: Germany, Berlin Posts: 233 Joined: 05.08.05 |
except Vespula vulgaris pseudogermanica![/quote] And does this subspecies exist in Portugal?[/quote] V.v. pseudogermana is not a subspecies but a color variety which may be occur anywhere. Above, I said that about 98 % of germanica have this color pattern, the remaining may be vulgaris. But the color pattern in pseudogermanica is not exact the same as in the above shown germanica. Otherwise, Vespidae ID only by color don't work for 100%, and also the clypeus is variable. Best character for both species is form of the tip of the mandible (character not visible on the first photo, because to dark). Regards, Christian |
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| Rui Andrade |
Posted on 19-10-2007 12:21
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Member Location: Portugal Posts: 3122 Joined: 19.06.07 |
Thank you Christian, next time I will try to photograph the tip of the mandible |
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