This lifeform is found north of the Mason Dixon line in North America. This lifeform is widespread, but not common.

Vespula vidua is found from eastern Canada to Minnesota and Iowa and south in the mountains to northern Georgia. The nests are usually below ground.

Vespinae Subfamily contains the yellow jackets and the hornets. Females in this subfamily can inflict a painful sting. In the United States there is one native genus called Vespula. Some authors break this genus into two subgenera: Vespula and Dolichovespula. The European Vespa crabo is also found in the eastern United States.

Following is a list of the United States species in this subfamily(* means pictured):

    SPECIES                        RANGE

    Vespa crabo*                   Eastern USA  (a European
                                   import)
    Dolichovespula albida          Northern Canada
    Dolichovespula artica          Canada & USA in mountains
    Dolichovespula arenaria*       Canada & northern USA
    Dolichovespula maculata*       Canada & eastern USA
    Dolichovespula norvegiocoides  Canada & USA in mountains
    
    Vespula acadica                Canada & northern USA
    Vespula atropilosa             West of Continental Divide
    Vespula austriaca              Canada and western USA
    Vespula consobrina             Canada and USA in mountains
    Vespula intermedia             Northern Canada and Alaska
    Vespula vidua*                 Midwest and east USA
    Vespula squamosa*              Mid/eastern USA and eastern
                                   Mexico
    Vespula sulphurea              California
    Vespula flavopilosa*           Mid/eastern USA
    Vespula germanica*             Eastern USA (Introduced)
    Vespula maculifrons*           Central and eastern USA
    Vespula pensylvanica*          West of Continental Divide in
                                   USA
    Vespula vulgaris*              Canada & northern USA and
                                   mountains

Many of the above species are commonly called yellowjackets. Although yellow jackets normally prey upon other insects, they also are frequent scavengers. Often they become so common that they are a serious problem for humans. There are also documented cases of these wasps being so thick in fruit groves that normal fruit picking was impossible. Control during the fall seems difficult and only a preplanned attack in the spring by a variety of traps when their numbers are small seems effective.

The United States Agricultural Department has published a booklet on these creatures that is useful for farmers, picnic grove owners, and anybody trying to identify or control the various species. It is handbook #552 entitled: "The Yellow Jackets of America North of Mexico," Akre, Greene, et al.

The species in the yellow jacket group are difficult to separate because individuals in a population are somewhat variable. The shape of the various yellow bars on the abdomen in conjunction with other features is one key. Of particular interest is the shape of the abdominal pattern nearest the thorax. A study of the two pictured specimens of Vespula flavopilosa will show that the pattern can be quite different in a single species.

The various species usually exhibit a complex social structure with queens, workers, and drones. Typically, the queen is the only one to overwinter, and she begins the new nest in the spring. Her first young are additional females that help build the nest and feed the new young. Nests with thousands of individuals are common. In the fall, drones and new queens are hatched to begin the cycle again. Queens are usually larger than the female workers. Drones generally have a long narrow abdomen.

Vespidae Family  contains many common wasps. This large family is normally broken into several major subcategories. One group is the Polistinae subfamily of the paper wasps, and another group is the Vespinae subfamily which contains the hornets and yellow jackets.

Hymenoptera Order contains the ants, wasps, and bees. There are more than one hundred thousand species in this order in the world. The United States has approximately sixteen thousand species. The larvae resemble caterpillars or maggots. Many of the species in this order are social with different tasks performed by different members of the colony.

Insects (Class Insecta) are the most successful animals on Earth if success is measured by the number of species or the total number of living organisms. This class contains more than a million species, of which North America has approximately 100,000.

Insects have an exoskeleton. The body is divided into three parts. The foremost part, the head, usually bears two antennae. The middle part, the thorax, has six legs and usually four wings. The last part, the abdomen, is used for breathing and reproduction.

Although different taxonomists divide the insects differently, about thirty-five different orders are included in most of the systems.

The following abbreviated list identifies some common orders of the many different orders of insects discussed herein:

   Odonata:      Dragon and Damsel Flies
   Orthoptera:   Grasshoppers and Mantids
   Homoptera:    Cicadas and Misc. Hoppers
   Diptera:      Flies and Mosquitoes
   Hymenoptera:  Ants, Wasps, and Bees
   Lepidoptera:  Butterflies and Moths
   Coleoptera:   Beetles

Jointed Legged Animals (Phylum Arthropoda) make up the largest phylum. There are probably more than one million different species of arthropods known to science. It is also the most successful animal phylum in terms of the total number of living organisms.

Butterflies, beetles, grasshoppers, various insects, spiders, and crabs are well-known arthropods.

The phylum is usually broken into the following five main classes:

   Arachnida:      Spiders and Scorpions
   Crustacea:      Crabs and Crayfish
   Chilopoda:      Centipedes
   Diplopoda:      Millipedes
   Insecta:        Insects

There are several other "rare" classes in the arthropods that should be mentioned. A more formal list is as follows:

   Sub Phylum Chelicerata

     C. Arachnida:      Spiders and scorpions
     C. Pycnogonida:    Sea spiders (500 species)
     C. Merostomata:    Mostly fossil species

   Sub Phylum Mandibulata

     C. Crustacea:      Crabs and crayfish
      
   Myriapod Group

     C. Chilopoda:      Centipedes
     C. Diplopoda:      Millipedes
     C. Pauropoda:      Tiny millipede-like
     C. Symphyla:       Garden centipedes

   Insect Group

     C. Insecta:        Insects

The above list does not include some extinct classes of Arthropods such as the Trilobites.

Animal Kingdom contains numerous organisms that feed on other animals or plants. Included in the animal kingdom are the lower marine invertebrates such as sponges and corals, the jointed legged animals such as insects and spiders, and the backboned animals such as fish, amphibians, reptiles, birds, and mammals.