Key to the Yellowjackets

The Key to the Yellowjackets

These keys are for use on female workers of the subfamily Vespinae found in the Northwest U.S. and adjacent Canada.

There are two keys to the yellowjackets:

Technical Key This is intended for people with entomology experience and access to a microscope.

Artificial Key This assusmes little entomology experience and no access to a scope. The identification through this key is more likely to be equivocal; tenative couplets are mentioned.

To construct this key the following keys were consulted (and some couplets borrowed): Akre et al. (1980), MacDonald and Deyrup (1989), Miller (1961), Bohart and Bechtel (1957), and Ebeling (1975).

All micrographs are original, created by the author. They may be reused for non-commercial use, with acknowledgment of their source. Line drawings are based on Akre et al. (1980), redrawn by the author.

Page author: Matthew P. Kweskin kweskm@evergreen.edu
Last modified: 2 Feb 1997

Technical Key	This is intended for people with entomology experience and access to a microscope.
Artificial Key	This assusmes little entomology experience and no access to a scope. The identification through this key is more likely to be equivocal; tenative couplets are mentioned.