Norwegian wasp
The Norwegian wasp is a black and yellow wasp, often with a bit of red at the front of its tummy. It builds a round paper nest hanging from low branches and bushes. It lives in big families with a queen.
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Fun facts
Its nest is made from chewed old wood and looks like rough grey paper.
One nest found on a willow branch was about the size of a grapefruit and had 357 little cells inside.
A family lives only about 95 to 115 days, from spring to late summer.
Only the new queens survive the winter. In spring each one starts a brand-new nest all by herself.
Its genus name comes from a Greek word meaning long.
Most asked questions about Norwegian wasp
?Where does the Norwegian wasp build its nest?
Usually on low tree branches or in bushes, sometimes on walls or in holes in the ground.
?How big is the Norwegian wasp?
About 11 to 18 millimetres long. Queens are bigger than workers.
For bug experts
- Scientific name
- Dolichovespula norwegica
- Named by
- Fabricius, 1781
- Group
- Wasps and hornets
- Family
- Vespidae
- Classification
- Insecta > Hymenoptera > Vespidae
- Lives on
- Europe
- Also known as
- Tree wasp
Where the facts come from
- Dolichovespula norwegica (Wikipedia, CC BY-SA 4.0): what it looks like, where it lives, what it eats, sizes and fun facts, retold in simple words.
- Picture by S. Rae. CC BY 2.0, Wikimedia Commons. The round sticker of this bug is cut from the same picture.
If we got something wrong, sorry, we are bug fans, not a science journal. Tell us at [email protected] and we will fix it.
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