Evergreen Natural History Database

Identification:
D. arctica is black with white markings. It is the only black and white vespine in our area which is a social parasite. It can be differentiated from D. maculata by the gastral markings. In D. arctica the first three gastral terga have white marking; in D. maculata these terga are all black.

Geography:
The occurence of D. arctica is limited to North America, where it is found transcontinentally in the boreal zone. On the West coast, it is found from Alaska to southern California. It is also found in the Southwest U.S. and the central and northern part of the East coast of the United States. Miller (1961)reports specimens of this species having been collected from Mt. Ranier and the Olympics mountains in Washington state.

Natural History:
(Akre et al., 1980)- This species is a social parasite of D. arenaria and D. norvegicoides. The D. arctica queen will enter a host nest early in the season and eventually kill the host queen.

Last updated Tuesday, August 08, 2006, by Lisa Ferrier