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What the sources say

Common WaspVespula vulgaris

Every figure, record and mechanism on the Common Wasp profile was written from a source, and this is the working table behind it: 42 claims checked word for word against these sources. The left column is what the page says. The right column is the source's own words, copied, not paraphrased; a ... marks a cut and[brackets] an insertion. Open any source and check it yourself.

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Source
01

Buglife

Common Wasp. Buglife.

The page saysMost common wasps live only a few weeks, says the insect charity Buglife, but a mated queen hibernates and may survive for up to a year.
The source saysmost wasps will only live for a few weeks, but the mated Queen will hibernate underground to lay her eggs in summer so they may survive for up to a year

Source
02

Welsh Wildlife (The Wildlife Trust of South and West Wales)

Common wasp. Welsh Wildlife (The Wildlife Trust of South and West Wales).

The page saysNot Evaluated
The source saysCommon.Note: stats.conservationStatus; no Red List assessment found for Vespula vulgaris on GBIF or Crossref; the Welsh page gives only a local abundance note; quote is the page's own conservation-status line, not an IUCN category
The page saysnests of paper, which the queen makes by chewing up wood
The source sayslive in nests built of ‘paper’, which is formed by the queen chewing up wood
The page saysNests in gaps in houses and roofs
The source saysThey live in large groups in gaps in houses and roofs
The page sayswidespread across UK habitats from woodland to towns and gardens
The source saysDistribution Widespread.Note: stats.habitat; the page's habitat list names Woodland and Towns and gardens; the page is a UK wildlife trust's
The page saysNectar, rotten fruit and sugary food; the young are fed on small insects
The source saysThey feed on high energy food like nectar, rotten fruit and sugary picnics, whilst their young are fed on small insects.Note: stats.diet
The page saysthe Welsh Wildlife Trust gives its length as up to 2 cm
The source saysLength: up to 2cm
The page saysAdults go for high-energy food: nectar, rotten fruit, sugary picnics. Their young get small insects instead.
The source saysThey feed on high energy food like nectar, rotten fruit and sugary picnics, whilst their young are fed on small insects.
The page saysThe Welsh Wildlife Trust calls them important pollinators and pest controllers, and says the species is widespread in the UK, with sightings from April to October.
The source sayswasps are actually important pollinators and pest controllersNote: widespread: 'Distribution Widespread.'; 'When to see April to October'
The page sayssightings from April to October
The source saysWhen to see April to October
The page saysCommon wasps live in large groups
The source saysThey live in large groups in gaps in houses and roofs

Source
03

Kovac & Stabentheiner 2012

Kovac & Stabentheiner (2012). Does size matter? Biology Open.

The page saysIn a study comparing hornets with two Vespula wasps (this species and the German wasp), the insects had mean thorax temperatures of 30 to 40°C as they arrived at the nest entrance and 33 to 40°C as they left, about 5 to 18°C above the surrounding air.
The source saysthey exhibited similarities in the dependence of thorax temperature on T a on their arrival (mean T th = 30–40°C) and departure (mean T th = 33–40°C) at the nest entranceNote: hornets Vespa crabro and Vespula vulgaris and V. germanica; excess below
The page saysthe authors read that gap as a high endothermic capacity
The source saysThe thorax temperature excess (T th −T a ) above ambient air of about 5–18°C indicates a high endothermic capacity in both hornets and wasps.
The page saysCommon wasps caught leaving their nests averaged 84.1 mg in that study
The source saysVespula vulgaris weighed on average 84.1±19.0 mg ( n = 147)Note: mean of insects leaving the nest; method quote below; also FAQ
The page sayscaught leaving their nests
The source saysFor determination of the body weight, from each colony insects leaving the nest were captured and weighed with a balance to the nearest 0.1 mgNote: scope of the 84.1 mg mean (body and FAQ)
The page saysThe hornets measured alongside them averaged 477.5 mg, which is 5.7 times more.
The source saysthe hornets had a mean weight of 477.5±59.9 mg ( n = 50). The hornets weighed the 5.7 fold of V. vulgaris
The page saysThe study's five common wasp colonies nested in wall hollows or lofts.
The source sayssix wasp colonies, five Vespula vulgaris and one Vespula germanica (Vespidae, Hymenoptera). The hornet nests were located in tree hollows or abandoned bird nest boxes. The wasps nested in wall hollows or lofts ( V. vulgaris )
The page saysIn one study, 147 common wasps caught leaving their nests averaged 84.1 mg.
The source saysVespula vulgaris weighed on average 84.1±19.0 mg ( n = 147)
The page saysabout 5 to 18°C above the surrounding air
The source saysThe thorax temperature excess (T th −T a ) above ambient air of about 5–18°CNote: scope: both hornets and wasps in the study
The page saysheats its own thorax 5 to 18°C above the surrounding air
The source saysthey exhibited similarities in the dependence of thorax temperature on T a on their arrival (mean T th = 30–40°C) and departure (mean T th = 33–40°C) at the nest entranceNote: vibe.reason; same quote as the body sentence "In a study comparing hornets with two Vespula wasps (this species and the German"
The page saysweightKg: 0.0000841
The source saysVespula vulgaris weighed on average 84.1±19.0 mgNote: battleStats.weightKg, task #1254; workers at the nest entrance

Source
04

Foster & Ratnieks 2001

Foster & Ratnieks (2001). Convergent evolution of worker policing by egg eating in the honeybee and common wasp. Proceedings of the Royal Society of London. Series B: Biological Sciences.

The page saysA paper-nest builder whose workers police the colony by eating worker-laid eggs.
The source saysWorkers rapidly removed worker-laid eggs but left most queen-laid eggsNote: tagline; nest of paper below
The page saysWorkers rapidly remove worker-laid eggs: 4 of 120 were left after an hour, against 106 of 120 queen eggs
The source saysfour out of 120 worker eggs versus 106 out of 120 queen eggs remained after 1hNote: stats.superpower; body blockquote; FAQ
The page saysWorkers quickly clear away eggs laid by other workers while leaving the queen's alone: after an hour, four of 120 worker eggs were still there, against 106 of 120 queen eggs.
The source saysWorkers rapidly removed worker-laid eggs but left most queen-laid eggs (four out of 120 worker eggs versus 106 out of 120 queen eggs remained after 1h).
The page saysDissecting 1,150 workers from six colonies found that 4% had active ovaries, roughly five to 25 workers per colony.
The source saysOvary dissection (1150 workers from six colonies) revealed that a small but significant number of workers have active ovaries (4%) equivalent to approximately five to 25 workers per colony.
The page saysmicrosatellite (DNA marker) analysis of 270 males detected no workers' sons
The source saysmicrosatellite analysis of males (270 individuals from nine colonies) detected no workers' sons
The page saysHoneybees evolved the same egg-eating policing separately.
The source saysWorker policing by egg eating has convergently evolved in the common wasp and the honeybee
The page saysYes. When researchers tested common wasp workers, an hour later 4 of 120 worker-laid eggs remained, but 106 of 120 queen-laid eggs were still there. The authors note that honeybees evolved the same habit separately.
The source saysfour out of 120 worker eggs versus 106 out of 120 queen eggs remained after 1h

Source
05

Steinmetz & Schmolz 2005

Steinmetz & Schmolz (2005). Nest odor dynamics in the social wasp Vespula vulgaris. Naturwissenschaften.

The page saysAggression toward recently killed nestmates was about 12%, but about 30% toward nestmates killed 19 days earlier, which the authors say indicates a change of the nest odor within the colony.
The source saysThe aggression rate increased from about 12% toward recently killed nestmates up to 30% toward nestmates killed 19 days before the experiment.
The page sayswhich the authors say indicates a change of the nest odor within the colony
The source saysThis indicates a change of the nest odor within the colony.
The page saysResearchers stored dead nestmates in a freezer, then tested how aggressively colonies treated them.
The source sayswe tested the aggression rates toward dead nestmates that had been stored for 10 min, 10 and 19 days outside their colonies at -76 degrees C
The page saysTwo neighbouring colonies, kept apart by a solid wall for 28 days, treated dead foragers from next door as harshly as dead strangers, about 39% each.
The source saysthe colony members treated dead foragers from the neighbor nest as aggressively as dead foreign, non-neighbor workers (about 39% each)Note: 28 days wall: 'for 28 days' quote below
The page sayskept apart by a solid wall for 28 days
The source sayswe kept two colonies each in one nest box with a complete separation of both neighbor nests by a solid wall inside the box for 28 days
The page saysSeventeen days after a metal grid replaced the wall, letting air pass between them, aggression toward dead neighbours had fallen to about 11%.
The source saysSeventeen days after the replacement of the solid wall by a metallic grid, which allowed no physical contact but air exchange between the two neighbor colonies, the aggression rates toward foreign workers and nestmates remained relatively unaffected whereas it decreased significantly toward dead neighbors to about 11%.

Source
06

Avarguès-Weber et al. 2017

Avarguès-Weber et al. (2017). Recognition of human face images by the free flying wasp Vespula vulgaris. Animal Behavior and Cognition.

The page saysIn one experiment, free-flying wasps learned to tell apart similar photos of human faces, then picked the trained face out from new ones; they did significantly worse once the photos were rotated 180°.
The source saysFreely flying individual wasps were trained in an appetitive-aversive differential conditioning procedure to discriminate between perceptually similar human face images from a standard face recognition test. The wasps could then recognize the target face from novel dissimilar or similar human faces, but showed a significant drop in performance when the stimuli were rotated by 180°
The page saysWasps trained with rewards and penalties could pick out the target face from new faces, though they did worse when the pictures were turned upside down.
The source saysThe wasps could then recognize the target face from novel dissimilar or similar human faces, but showed a significant drop in performance when the stimuli were rotated by 180°
The page saysThe study's authors say the species is unlikely to have any special face-processing ability.
The source saysWe investigated the visual capacities of the widespread invasive wasp Vespula vulgaris , which is unlikely to have any specialization for face processing.
The page saysVision gets tested too.
The source saysWe investigated the visual capacities of the widespread invasive wasp Vespula vulgarisNote: transition sentence

Source
07

Donovan et al. 1992

Donovan et al. (1992). Comparative characteristics of nests of Vespula germanica (F.) and Vespula vulgaris (L.) (Hymenoptera: Vespinae) from Christchurch City, New Zealand. New Zealand Journal of Zoology.

The page saysIn a 1987 to 1989 study in Christchurch, some German wasp nests survived the winter, but all common wasp nests died by June.
The source saysSome Getman wasp nests survived the winter and began producing new worker cells by late June, but all common wasp nests died by JuneNote: 'Getman' is the abstract's typo for German; dates: abstract July 1987 to June 1989, City of Christchurch
The page saysIn New Zealand it is an introduced species.
The source saysthe adventive social vespines the German waspNote: adventive = introduced
The page saysa 1987 to 1989 study in Christchurch
The source saysFrom July 1987 to June 1989, 141 nests and 365 nests, respectively, of the adventive social vespines the German wasp, Vespula germanica (F.), and the common wasp V. vulgaris (L.), from the City of Christchurch, New Zealand

Source
08

Blank et al. 2010

Blank et al. (2010). Identification, Recombinant Expression, and Characterization of the 100 kDa High Molecular Weight Hymenoptera Venom Allergens Api m 5 and Ves v 3. The Journal of Immunology.

The page saystags: venomous
The source saysidentification of its homologue Ves v 3 in yellow jacket (Vespula vulgaris) venomNote: tags, task #1254

How the table was made: a writer drafted the profile from these sources and logged each claim with its quote, a reviewer with nothing but this table checked every sentence said no more than its quote, and a script confirmed each quote appears word for word in the source. The method is in the site'sAbout page.