A back of the envelope calculation finds over twelve thousand types of wasps in the United States, normally grouped into larger super families and families.
This particular guide covering those types of wasps does not claim to be an expansive overview. Rather, the focus is on home and garden interests, along with enthusiasm for the natural biological control these wasps bring.
The types of wasps usually found around the yard and home often divide into those that cause concern, Vespid wasps, and the beneficial wasps. The seven groups of wasps listed on the buttons below are presented in much greater detail. Press one of the buttons below to learn more or scroll down the page to get an overview of the most common types of wasps found around the neighborhood.
Fortunately only a small percentage of wasps, primarily the Vespid wasps pose any concern to humans because of their habit of building nests in residential areas and their tendency to sting (multiple times) as a defensive mechanism, when their nests are threatened.
Video enthusiasts can click on the menu in the upper right hand corner of the video playlist at the top of the page and scroll down to see sixteen common types of wasps.
Vespids
Vespids consist of paper wasps, yellowjackets, hornets, potter and mason wasps. Around the home and garden the paper wasps, yellowjackets and hornets pose a concern, because they can sting in defense of their nests.
On the other hand, their appetite for caterpillars and other garden pests often translates into their being beneficial insects that provide natural pest management.
Safely removing the nests can be an efficient option for those dealing with potentially harmful circumstances.
Potter and Mason Wasps, the most diverse group of vespids pose no similar stinging issues.
The approximately two hundred and fifty North America species get described as solitary, predator wasps and beneficial insects because of their use of caterpillars and other insect larvae as their principle larvae hosts.
The black and red mason wasp pictured is a small, colorful species with a range limited mostly to the South East and Gulf Coast states.
Pointed abdominal tips with black and white or black and yellow body colors also provides decent initial field ID clues.
More Types of Wasps
Approximately one hundred and twenty five thread-waisted wasps call North America home. Familiar to most people as the long, thin wasps that occupy flower tops during the warmer seasons, their sometimes fragile look masks their predatory nature. Thread-waisted wasps capture and paralyze a variety of insect species and then transport them to their nests as hosts and feed their own larvae.
Fortunately their predatory nature extends only to the insect world. By and large they are solitary wasps that build nests in the ground to rear their young.
Scoliid wasps, a primarily southern group, share physical characteristics such as colorful spots on the abdomen and/or eye color. Think of them as beneficial wasps because they hunt for beetle grubs in yard from pests such as the June Bug and Japanese Beetle to serve as food for their larvae.
The Blue-winged Scoliid (Scolia dubia), one of the most common of the Scollid species, easily gets identified by the yellow spots against a hairy red abdomen.
As the name suggests, spider wasps prey on spiders. The picture depicts the end result of a spider wasp chasing down an orb weaving spider.
Velvet ants are related to spider wasps. Males have wings. Females are wingless.
Braconid Wasps and Ichneumon Wasps figuratively blanket North America and the ten thousand or so native species guarantees that a handful of species fly around the yard and ground of most residential areas.
For individuals not fluent in wasp identification, the large number of species makes it very difficult to identify any one specimen. Nonetheless, species identification of Ichneumon wasps can be very important because some of the species can be used to for pest control purposes.
Sand wasps often can be found at the flower garden. Small or large, their colorful eyes tend to stand out on flowers.
The iridescent blue or green of Cuckoo wasps catches the human eye when they are spotted atop most flowers. Like other cuckoo species, they are parasitic nesters, laying their eggs in another wasp’s nest. Cuckoo wasps have a continent wide presence.
Another family of flower wasps, Tiphiid Wasps, can be identified by thin, long bodies and a hooked appendage at the end of the abdomen.
The question, ‘why are they called sawflies if they are in the wasp category’ sounds reasonable. Consider the picture of a sawfly ovipositor. Many of the parasitic wasps have ovipositors, and therefore it’s reasonable to assume that a close inspection of the shape and size of the ovipositor might help with initial identification. A close up view of a Sawfly ovipositor shows a saw like appendage.
Caterpillars and adults come in a variety of shapes, colors and sizes. Cimbicid sawflies grow large.