''Paravespula'' is a small
subgenus
In biology, a subgenus ( subgenera) is a taxonomic rank directly below genus.
In the International Code of Zoological Nomenclature, a subgeneric name can be used independently or included in a species name, in parentheses, placed between the ge ...
of
yellowjacket
Yellowjacket or yellowjacket is the common name in North America for predatory social wasps of the genus, genera ''Vespula'' and ''Dolichovespula''. Members of these genera are known simply as "wasps" in other English-speaking countries. Most of ...
wasps, including some of the best-known
wasp
A wasp is any insect of the narrow-waisted suborder Apocrita of the order Hymenoptera which is neither a bee nor an ant; this excludes the broad-waisted sawflies (Symphyta), which look somewhat like wasps, but are in a separate suborder ...
species in the world: the
German wasp
''Vespula germanica'', known colloquially as the European wasp, German wasp, or German yellowjacket, is a species of wasp found in much of the Northern Hemisphere, native to Europe, Northern Africa, and temperate Asia. It has spread and become ...
, ''Vespula germanica''; the
eastern yellowjacket ''Vespula maculifrons''; the
western yellowjacket ''Vespula pensylvanica''; and the
common wasp, ''Vespula vulgaris''. It is occasionally treated as a separate genus, but this is not widely accepted.
These particular wasps have a tendency to make underground nests with the opening usually showing from a crack in a wall or an opening in a small grass hill, which makes it quite difficult to locate to get the colony removed. The wasps are aggressive and usually attack if their nests are threatened. Species in the subgenus ''Paravespula'' differ from those in the subgenus ''
Vespula
''Vespula'' is a small genus of social wasps, widely distributed in the Northern Hemisphere. Along with members of their sister genus '' Dolichovespula'', they are collectively known by the common name yellowjackets (or yellow jackets) in North ...
'' (s.str) in having larger colonies with up to thousands of individuals and several medium to large brood combs.
References
Vespidae
Insect subgenera
{{Vespidae-stub