HYMENOPTERA > APOCRITA | Aculeata > Vespidae > Vespinae

While compiling these notes I was surprised to read that this species, despite being called the Common Wasp, is actually less common than Vespula germanica. I doubt there’s much in it and like all statistics it’s down to the species that people actually record and I guess that most casual recorders concentrate their efforts on species that are generally less common in any given area.

The opening paragraph for Vespula germanica applies here as well, so I’ll move directly to the important distinguishing features for Vespula vulgaris, which are the yellow clypeus with the characteristic broad black anchor mark; a largely yellow ocular sinus (the area above and behind the eyes) much the same as Vespula germanica; pronotum with quite a thick yellow border from behind the head and extending towards the wings where there’s a small yellow patch; pronotum border can be seen on the side of the thorax (episternum) terminating above a yellow triangular spot that is not as angled as in Vespula germanica; metanotum with two elongated yellow spots that nearly touch rather than having clear separation; propodeum black with irregular yellow blotch on each side. The abdomen has inverted black triangles that, although variable, are particularly conspicuous on segments S1 and S2.

Vespula vulgaris can be found almost anywhere, much the same as Vespula germanica. One of the main differences between the two species though, is that Vespula vulgaris is far more likely to try to nest in loft spaces or outbuildings as a couple of the following photos show when I found a new queen starting to construct her nest in my garage. And, the other photo shows what happens when one comes into an outbuilding and gets caught up in a spider’s web - in this case the web of a Noble False Widow that didn’t take any time at all in subduing and then wrapping up its prey.

Nests can be very large with colonies typically having many thousands of cells. The numbers quoted on the BWARS website also indicate that an average colony can produce around 10,000 workers, 1,000 queens and 1,000 males, which is a lot of larvae to feed!