The Southern Yellowjacket, Vespula squamosa (Drury) (Hymenoptera: Vespidae) in Guatemala, Central America

Abstract

Southern yellowjackets, Vespula squamosa (Drury) were collected at sites in Guatemala, in the Departments of Baja Verapaz, El Progresso, and Zacapa. Collection localities ranged in elevation from 500 to 1,880 m. These locations were forested, or partially forested with some pasture land and coffee plantings, Coffea arabica L. Two active colonies of this wasp were collected and analyzed in May of 2006. The two colonies were subterranean, and the nests had 9 and 11 layers, respectively, of paper comb completely surrounded with external paper envelope. The two nests included 10,581 and 20,715 cells, with 2,818 and 6,105 workers, 203 and 313 queens, and 790 and 454 males respectively. Samples of queens from each nest were dissected. These included numerous queens that were mated and possessed mature eggs, as well as numbers of queens that were unmated and had no eggs. Workers from each nest showed no ovarian development. The nest sizes and populations of wasps for these colonies were within ranges of those reported for nests of this species in North America.