Vespula vulgaris in flight

The wasp colony: a paper pulp nest

Wasps are members of the order Hymenoptera, which also includes ants, bees and sawflies.

The common or garden wasps, Vespula vulgaris, and hornets (Vespa) are members of the eusocial family Vespidae. This has about 5000 species.

By far the greater number of wasp species (over 100,000) are the parasitic wasps. Most of them are parasitoids which lay their eggs in the caterpillars of other insect species. Almost every pest insect species has at least one wasp species that preys upon it or parasitizes it. This makes wasps vital to the natural control of pest numbers (biocontrol). Parasitic wasps are increasingly used in agricultural pest control as they prey mostly on pest insects and have little impact on crops.