Wasp Close-Up

UPDATED 14/02/2026 

The not-so-popular plot visitor, the German (Yellow Jacket) wasp - Vespula Germanica. Apart from upsetting a picnic they enjoy our fruits as much as we do and, if they find a gap, they’ll also strip the sweetcorn cobs. They are good pest predators but take out friendly butterflies and lacewings too. But, I’ll still say leave them alone and they’ll leave you alone - though not everyone would agree. It’s difficult to look up wasps online without ‘pest control’ in the title.

This wasp appears to be hibernating (well, in a state of diapause) in our polytunnel. Only new fertilised queens survive the Winter, but this one doesn’t look as large as queens I’ve seen before.

I like that she looks to be holding her antennae down close to her head - perhaps to protect from predators or the cold. This close-up clearly shows the three ocelli between her eyes. These are the sensors, that various insects have, for light detection which assists with flight stability as well as for movement detection. These are known as ‘simple eyes’ as opposed to the compound eyes give the wasp an overall view of the world. Ocelli perform different tasks for different insects.

From May 2012

The stones piles near our plot are very appealing to wildlife and provide warmth after just a little sunshine.

This appears to be a queen wasp (she was very big). Unfortunately she got splashed with muddy water before I spotted her to take the photos, but I was very pleased with these snaps which show great detail.

 I LOVE the super macro button on my camera!! Look at that hairy face.