Blackjacket Wasp
Common Name: Blackjacket
Latin Name: Vespula consobrina (Saussure, 1864)
(R. Bercha, det., confirmed by M. Buck)
Length: 10 - 15 mm
Range: Boreal
Habitat: Forested areas
Time of year seen: May to September
Diet: Insects and spiders
Other: The Blackjacket is typically a forest dwelling species that nests in rodent burrows and occasionally above ground in rock cavities, dead trees, and the walls of structures made by humans. Colonies are generally small with up to 150 workers. Adults are strictly predatory and hunt only live prey. Prey includes: spiders, caterpillars, flies, hemipterans and some true bugs. (Marshall, 2006)