Nest
Dolichovespula species (for example, the aerial yellow jacket, Dolichovespula arenaria, and the bald-faced hornet, Dolichovespula maculata) tend to create exposed aerial nests (a feature shared with true hornets, which has led to some confusion as to the use of the name "hornet").
Vespula species, in contrast, build concealed nests, usually underground.
Yellow jacket nests usually last for only one season, dying off in winter. The nest is started by a single queen, called the "foundress". Typically, a nest can reach the size of a basketball by the end of a season. In parts of Australia, New Zealand, the Pacific Islands, and southwestern coastal areas of the United States, the winters are mild enough to allow nest overwintering. Nests that survive multiple seasons become massive and often possess multiple egg-laying queens.
Read more about this topic: Yellow Jacket
Famous quotes containing the word nest:
“Far from her nest the lapwing cries away;
My heart prays for him, though my tongue do curse.”
—William Shakespeare (1564–1616)
“A little nest that’s nestled where the roses bloom.”
—George Whiting (1884–1943)
“Merrily swinging on brier and weed,
Near to the nest of his litle dame,
Over the mountainside or mead,
Robert of Lincoln is telling his name:
Bob-o’-link, bob-o’-link,”
—William Cullen Bryant (1794–1878)