Red
Wasp Vespula rufa  |
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| Wasps are social insects and well known to everyone. Colonies build up during the Summer and can eventually total several thousand by the time the colony dies at the onset of cold weather. Only the young queens survive the Winter, hibernating in sheds and hollow trees etc, to start new colonies in the Spring. A ground-nesting species which appears through my own casual observations over the years, to be commonest in the Sherwood Forest area of Nottinghamshire. Budby Common is a regular site and others have been found recently at Bevercotes Pit Wood and Eakring. It is quite an easy species to identify, with the rufous markings on the first and second abdominal segments (coupled with the pattern of black markings) usually being diagnostic. The extent of red colouration can vary. | ||
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| UK distribution of Vespula rufa
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 The UK distribution maps on eakringbirds.com are provided by the National Biodiversity Network (NBN Gateway) Each red square on the map indicates species present in 10km grid squares. Updated September 2011 |
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