Eastern Yellowjacket vs Giant Web Spinner

Side-by-side species comparison

Attribute Eastern Yellowjacket Giant Web Spinner
Scientific Name Vespula maculifrons Clothoda longicauda
Order Hymenoptera Embioptera
Family Vespidae Clothodidae
Size 12-16 mm 15.0-25.0 mm
Habitat Woodlands Woodlands
Diet Carrion Feeders Wood Feeders
Regions Eastern North America from Canada to the Gulf states South America
Conservation Least Concern Not Evaluated

Eastern Yellowjacket

A common ground-nesting yellowjacket with bold black and yellow banding on its abdomen. It builds large paper nests underground that can contain thousands of workers.

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Did You Know?

Its underground nests can grow to the size of a basketball and contain over 4,000 workers by late summer.

Giant Web Spinner

One of the largest web spinners, found in tropical South America. It has elongate cerci and builds extensive silk tunnel systems on trees.

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Did You Know?

The family Clothodidae is considered the most primitive living web spinner lineage, dating back over 100 million years.