V. bonariensis is cultivated as an ornamental plant for traditional and drought tolerant and 'pollinator-host' gardens and parks.
It is a perennial, hardy in USDA Zones 7-11. It can be grown as an annual in areas where it is not winter hardy and will bloom in the first year when grown from seed. Its long internodes give it a sparse appearance but allow it to intermingle and coexist with other plants. The flowers  which appear in mid- to late summer, are very attractive to butterflies, and provide nectar for native bees and many beneficial garden insects.
This species grows best in a well-drained soil. It prefers full sun to partial shade and needs regular moisture. It has a reputation of rarely being attacked by insect pests, but may be susceptible to powdery mildew. V. bonariensis is commonly grown from seed which germinates readily without pre-treatment, but can also be propagated from herbaceous stem cuttings.
It has gained the Royal Horticultural Society's Award of Garden Merit.


V. bonariensis self-seeds readily. This ability has raised concerns that it may become an invasive species and noxious weed in favorable habitats. It has naturalized in a number of southern United States.
Presently, the plant is on the invasive species watchlist for Washington state, naturalized in tropical and southern Africa, temperate Asia, Australia, New Zealand, the United States (including Hawaii), the West Indies, Macaronesia and the Mascarene Islands. According to Pacific Island Ecosystems at Risk, it is considered a weed in Fiji, New Guinea and other South Pacific islands.


Verbena brasiliensis, the Brazilian verbena or Brazilian vervain, is a flowering plant species from the vervain family (Verbenaceae). It is native to parts of South America, namely Brazil, but has spread its range in recent times and has occasionally become an invasive weed. It is an annual plant with purple flowers, and it has been introduced outside of its native range as an ornamental plant, and is now largely considered an invasive weed in these regions.
In the past, several botanists have mistakenly applied the scientific name of the purpletop vervain, V. bonariensis, to this species. As a consequence, the common names "Brazilian verbena" and "Brazilian vervain" are sometimes erroneously applied to the purpletop vervain.


Verbena brasiliensis is an erect herb with serrate leaves and overlapping fruits. Its flowers are usually purplish in color. This plant exhibits a terminal inflorescence, with flowers grouped closely together. It grows as a forb, herb, or subshrub. The stems are roughly 1 meter tall and mostly glabrous below and scabrous-pubescent above. While the lower branches exhibit opposite arrangement, the upper branches grow in an irregular formation. The stem is mildly indented at the nodes. The leaves are membranaceous and have connate bases and have a mildly pubescent underside. The calyx of the flowers is about 3 mm long, five-lobed, and tubular. Nerves in the calyx extend beyond the lobes to form teeth. The posterior nerve is always shortest. The corolla is formed of fused petals that spread open at the end, and is just a little longer than the calyx. The flower possesses reproductive organs of both sexes. The ovary is superior and bicarpellary. The fruit is a schizocarp, a type of dry fruit that splits when mature. It is encased in the calyx, and released by the shortest posterior nerve of the calyx. The nutlets are triangular in cross section and are about 2 mm long each. Four nutlets are generally produced by each fruit, with two per each carpel. Verbena brasiliensis reproduces sexually via seed production.
Verbena brasiliensis is often confused with Verbena litoralis because they are found in similar habitats. However, their inflorescences are different enough to easily separate the species. Verbena brasiliensis has short and compact spikes in open cymes, whereas Verbena litoralis has longer spikes that are arranged in paniculate cymes.


Verbena brasiliensis was described by Vellozo and published in Florae Fluminensis in 1829. The lectotype is located in Rio de Janeiro.
Synonyms include Verbena approximata Briq., Verbena brasiliensis var. brasiliensis, Verbena brasiliensis var. subglabrata Moldenke, Verbena chacensis Moldenke, Verbena hansenii Greene, Verbena isabellei Briq., Verbena litoralis f. angustifolia Chodat, Verbena litoralis var. brasiliensis (Vell.)  Briq. ex Munir, Verbena litoralis f. congesta (Moldenke) Moldenke, Verbena litoralis var. congesta Moldenke, Verbena quadrangularis Vell., and Verbena paucifolia Turczaninow Bull. Soc. Imp.


Verbena brasiliensis is currently found in many regions, including North America, Oceania, Africa, Asia, and Europe, where it is largely considered invasive. Verbena brasiliensis is native in South America, specifically, Argentina, Bolivia, Brazil, Chile, Columbia, Ecuador, Paraguay, Peru, and Uruguay. There, it grows in dry conditions on agricultural fields and is considered a weed. In locations where it is invasive, it grows well in man-made areas or riverine environments. In the United States, it is found mostly in grasslands, rangelands, riparian zones, urban areas, and wetlands. The US states where the plant occurs include Oregon, California, Texas, Oklahoma, Missouri, Arkansas, Louisiana, Kentucky, Tennessee, Mississippi, Alabama, Georgia, Florida, South Carolina, North Carolina, Virginia, and Hawaii.


Verbena brasiliensis has been used as a garden and ornamental plant. It has been cultivated within and largely outside of its native range for aesthetic uses.


Bees are attracted to Verbena brasiliensis as pollinators, as documented in Florida.
Verbena brasiliensis has been documented as a minor food source for large mammals and terrestrial birds, comprising 2-5% of their diet.
Euphyes bayensis, or the Bay Skipper, is a small butterfly found only in herbaceous marshes in estuarine and coastal habitats. This butterfly is endemic to only two locations: one in Texas and one in Mississippi. It has been identified relying on Verbena brasiliensis as a significant source of nectar.


Verbena brasiliensis poses a threat to native plants because it may displace them from their natural habitat. In the mid-south United States, it is considered significantly invasive. In the National Forest System of the United States, Verbena brasiliensis is banned.
In mountain ecosystems of South Africa, invasive Verbena brasiliensis was recorded spreading to increasing elevations year after year, showing its resiliency and ability to spread and adapt.
To prevent the spread of this invasive weed, it is recommended that this plant is not bought, sold, or planted as ornamental decoration because of its tendency to spread beyond the intended area.
For removal of Verbena brasiliensis, the herbicide Triclopyr 480 has been successfully used on this plant in South Africa. 2,4-D has been reported successful against Verbena brasiliensis as well.
Outstar, a blend of hexazinone and sulfometuron, was tested in the southeast United States, and Verbena brasiliensis was found to be tolerant of both active ingredients.


Verbena halei, commonly known as Texas vervain, Texas verbena, or slender verbena, is a flowering plant in the vervain family, Verbenaceae. It is native to much of the southern United States and Mexico. Scattered populations have been found along the east coast (North Carolina), and its range stretches south to Florida, west to Arizona, and throughout most of Mexico. It is a perennial shrub and grows in thickets and woodland borders. Flowers bloom March to June. It has been introduced to Australia, in Queensland, New South Wales, Victoria, and South Australia.
It was first formally named by American botanist John Kunkel Small in 1898. It is sometimes considered a subspecies or variety of Verbena officinalis.


Verbena lasiostachys is a species of verbena known by the common name western vervain.
It is native to western North America from Oregon, throughout California, to Baja California. It is widespread and occurs in many types of habitat, including California chaparral and woodlands and the Sierra Nevada. It is also found in disturbed areas, where it grows like a common weed.


Verbena lasiostachys is perennial herb produces one or more hairy, decumbent to erect stems up to 80 centimeters long. The hairy leaves are toothed or lobed and have short, winged petioles.
The inflorescence is made up of one to three spikes of flowers which are dense at the tip and more open on the lower part. Each small tubular flower has a hairy calyx of sepals and a purple corolla no more than half a centimeter wide.


White vervain has opposite, simple leaves on thin, rigid, green stems. The serrated leaves look similar to those of Urtica, which is the reason for the plant being named urticifolia. The small flowers are borne in spikes; they open in summer and unusually for this normally bluish-flowered genus are white. The fruit is a dark-colored capsule with many brown and thin seeds. The entire plant except for the flowers and fruit is covered in stiff bristles.


White vervain is native to eastern North America, excluding Mexico.


White vervain is commonly found growing individually in disturbed areas with partial shade.  It prefers mesic habitats.


This species may be closest to a group that might include such North American species as V. lasiostachys or V. menthifolia, and the common vervain (V. officinalis) from Europe. Like these, it is diploid with a total of 14 chromosomes. The relationship of the swamp verbena (V. hastata) to these other species is more enigmatic; its evolution might have involved hybridization with the white vervain or a related species in the past.


BSBI List 2007 (xls). Botanical Society of Britain and Ireland. Archived from the original (xls) on 2015-06-26. Retrieved 2014-10-17.
"Verbena urticifolia". Lady Bird Johnson Wildflower Center. The University of Texas at Austin. 20 December 2019. Retrieved 14 July 2022.
Hilty, John (2020). "White Vervain". Illinois Wildflowers. Retrieved 14 July 2022.
Yuan & Olmstead (2008)


Verbesina encelioides is a flowering plant in the family Asteraceae. The species is native to many parts of the United States and Mexico.  It is naturalized in other parts of North America, the Middle East, Spain, Argentina, Australia and the Pacific islands.  Common names include golden crownbeard, gold weed, wild sunflower, cowpen daisy, butter daisy, crown-beard, American dogweed and South African daisy.
The species responds strongly to disturbances on suitable sites and retards the development of other local species. Research has identified an allelopathic effect on radishes which may explain its ability to dominate other species in some locations.
It is a larval host for the bordered patch.


The golden-winged warbler (Vermivora chrysoptera) is a New World warbler. It breeds in southeastern and south-central Canada and in the Appalachian Mountains in northeastern to north-central United States. The majority (~70%) of the global population breeds in Wisconsin, Minnesota, and Manitoba. Golden-winged warbler populations are slowly expanding northwards, but are generally declining across its range, most likely as a result of habitat loss and competition/interbreeding with the very closely related blue-winged warbler, Vermivora cyanoptera.


This is a small warbler, measuring 11.6 cm (4.6 in) long, weighing 8–10 g (0.28–0.35 oz), and having a wingspan range 20 cm. The male has black throat, black ear patch bordered in white, and a yellow crown and wing patch. Females appear similar to males, with a light gray throat and light gray ear patches.
In both sexes, extensive white on the tail is conspicuous from below. Underparts are grayish white and the bill is long and slender. Unlike most warblers, juveniles can be reliably sexed (using throat patch color) approximately 15 days after fledging.


Golden-winged warblers are migratory, breeding in eastern North America and wintering in southern Central America and the neighboring regions in Colombia, Venezuela, and Ecuador. They are very rare vagrants elsewhere.
Golden-winged warblers breed in open scrubby areas, wetlands, and mature forest adjacent to those habitats. They lay 3–6 eggs (often 5) in a concealed cup nest on the ground or low in a bush.
Golden-winged warblers feed on insects, spiders, and caterpillars. They have strong gaping (opening) musculature around their bill, allowing them to uncover hidden caterpillars.
Their song is variable, but is most often perceived as a trilled bzzzzzzz buzz buzz buzz. The call is a buzzy chip or zip.
Male Golden-winged warblers use their brilliant yellow crowns, black throats, and white tail feather patches to signal habitat quality. Birds with more ornate ornaments protect higher quality territories and are typically less aggressive than their less brilliantly-colored conspecifics. However, ornamentation has not been shown to be linked with overall reproductive success. This is likely because golden-winged warblers with less ornamentation likely compensate for this with increased aggression.
Five geotracked golden-winged warblers in Tennessee were observed migrating hundreds of miles south, presumably avoiding tornadic storms, in April 2014. Individuals left prior to the arrival of the storm, perhaps after detecting it due to infrasound.


Golden-winged warblers are neotropical-nearctic migrants, and their habitat selectivity varies seasonally. Golden-winged warblers wintering in Costa Rica select premontane evergreen forest rather than tropical dry forest plant communities. Golden-winged warblers forage in hanging dead leaves, which are often a result of intermediate disturbances to the forest plant community.
During the breeding season, golden-winged warblers nest in shrubland and regenerating forest communities created and maintained by disturbance. This dependency on early-successional plant communities is part of the reason golden-winged warbler populations are declining.


This species forms two distinctive hybrids with blue-winged warblers where their ranges overlap in the Great Lakes and New England area. The more common, genetically dominant Brewster's warbler is gray above and whitish (male) or yellow (female) below. It has a black eyestripe and two white wingbars.
The rarer recessive Lawrence's warbler has a male plumage with green and yellow above and yellow below, with white wing bars and the same face pattern as male golden-winged. The female is gray above and whitish below with two yellow wing bars and the same face pattern as female golden-winged. Another rare recessive hybrid form is Burket's warbler, which has been noted in the same geographic area as Brewster's and Lawrence's. Burket's warbler was first documented by researchers at Cornell University's Lab of Ornithology. Brewster's, Lawrence's, and Burket's warblers can vary considerably in their physical features and sing songs of either blue-winged or golden-winged warblers. The colour of the throat patch reliably correlates with hybrid type, but colour of the underparts is highly variable between different hybrids.
Genetic introgression occurs across their range, producing cryptic hybrids (morphologically pure individuals with small amounts of blue-winged warbler DNA). These hybrids may be present in low numbers even on the edges of golden-winged warbler range, far from any populations of blue-winged warblers.
Hybridization between golden-winged warblers and blue-winged warblers is likely occurring at a much higher rate than initially thought. Genetic analysis has allowed scientists to more accurately quantify extra-pair copulation, and one study showed EPC was occurring in 55% of golden-winged warbler nests, resulting in phenotypic golden-winged warblers that were actually hybrids. Traditional indicators of the hybrid status of an individual, such as colouration of the underparts, are also


In 2015, scientists observed a strange event. A female golden-winged warbler abandoned her two fledgling chicks 5 and 9 days after fledging. The two chicks were subsequently "adopted" by a male black-and-white warbler, which fed the fledglings for 23 days until they reached independence.


The blue-winged warbler (Vermivora cyanoptera) is a fairly common New World warbler, 11.5 cm (4.5 in) long and weighing 8.5 g (0.30 oz). It breeds in eastern North America in southern Ontario and the eastern United States. Its range is extending northwards, where it is replacing the very closely related golden-winged warbler, Vermivora chrysoptera.
The common name blue-winged warbler refers to the bluish-gray color of the wings that contrast with the bright yellow body of the male. The name of the genus Vermivora means "worm-eating". The genus used to include nine other new world warblers but now includes only the golden-winged warbler and Bachman's warbler which is believed to be extinct.
The blue-winged warbler was one of the many species originally described by Carl Linnaeus in his 18th-century work, Systema Naturae, though the scientific name has changed several times. The species epithet Pinus was given by Linnaeus in 1766 but was a mistake as the original description of the species was actually based on illustrations of "pine creepers" drawn by others. The drawings depicted two different species, what we now call a pine warbler and blue-winged warbler. In 2010 the blue-winged warbler's scientific name was changed by the American Ornithologists' Union to correct the error. Pine warblers retained the species name Pinus but the species epithet for blue-winged warbler was changed to cyanoptera.


The blue-winged and golden-winged warblers are often compared to one another. Originally, the blue-winged warbler evolved on the western side of the country, while the golden-winged species bred closer to the Atlantic coast. However, in the recent years, their habitats have drastically changed due to urbanization, deforestation, and other factors.
Golden-winged warblers are generally more susceptible to displacement from the blue-winged warblers. One example of this can be seen in the warbler population in Central New York. In the 1980s, the blue-winged warbler significantly increased in the area while the golden-winged warbler's population decline. Because of the trend, it is often assumed that the blue-winged warbler somehow causes the local extinction of the golden-winged warbler; however, molecular studies confirm that the blue-winged warbler and golden-winged warbler are sister species that diverged sometime around 1.5 million years ago. Studies reveal that the two species are genetically 99.97% alike, and that their main differences are their general phenotypic appearances and singing tones.
New studies also explain that the two warblers can coexist in their chosen habitat. The two species can also hybridize freely where their habitats overlap, producing two hybrid types: Lawrence's warbler and Brewster's warbler.
This species forms two distinctive hybrids with golden-winged warbler where their ranges overlap in the Great Lakes and New England area. The more common and genetically dominant Brewster's warbler is gray above and whitish (male) or yellow (female) below. It has a black eye stripe and two white wing bars. The rarer recessive Lawrence's warbler has a male plumage which is green and yellow above and yellow below, with white wing bars and the same face pattern as male golden-winged. The female is gray above and whitish below with two yellow wing bars and the same face pattern as female golden-winged.
Song - The four species have different Song I type patterns, but primarily consist of the A-B pattern, resulting in difficulty distinguishing from one another. Their Song II type are more distinguishable from each other.
Morphology - The Brewster's warblers tend to resemble the plumage of the golden-winged but has a blue wing face pattern and variable amounts of yellow. The Lawrence's warblers look similar to blue-winged in terms of the plumage but exhibit a wing pattern similar to the golden-winged.
Introgressed Genotypes - Studies on the blue-winged and golden-winged warbler hybrids have indicated the presence of cryptic hybridization in the past for this species. This is done through DNA marker types, such as amplified fragment length polymorphisms (AFLPs). This may indicate that there has been repeated backcrossing between the genes in both species and their hybrid offspring.


The blue-winged warbler is a small warbler at 11.4–12.7 cm (4.5–5.0 in) long, with a wingspan of 17–19.5 cm (6.7–7.7 in). The breeding plumage of the male consists of a bright yellow head, breast and underparts. There is no streaking of the underparts of the bird. It has a narrow black line though the eyes and light blueish gray with two white wing-bars, which are diagnostic field marks. The blue winged warblers are generally small in size with a well-proportioned body, and heavy pointed bill. They roughly measure 4.3 to 4.7 inches long with a wingspan of around 5.9 inches. An average Blue-Winged Warbler weighs around 0.3 oz.
The female is duller overall with less yellow on the crown. Immatures are olive green with wings similar to the adults.
The color of their plumage tends to vary depending on the sex of the species. For males, the feathers are of bright yellow and olive green. The males often have bluish-gray wings that come with white wing bars and a distinctive black eye lining, making their heads look pointier compared to other male warbler species.
Blue-Winged Warbler females exhibit a yellow plumage that looks a bit lighter in color. The females also have a much less prominent eye lining which mostly looks grey and light, rather than black as seen in the males.
Immature or juvenile Blue-Winged Warblers are smaller compared to adults and will show a pinkish bill and almost invisible wing bars.
The song is a series of buzzing notes. The call is a sharp chip.


Blue-winged warblers are migratory New World warblers. They winter in southern Central America and breed from east-central Nebraska in the west to southern Minnesota, Wisconsin, Michigan and southern Ontario in the north to central New York, southern Vermont, southern New Hampshire and New England to the east, south to western South Carolina, northern Georgia, northern Alabama, eastern Tennessee and southern Missouri. It is a very rare vagrant to western Europe, with one bird wandering to Ireland.
The breeding habitat is open scrubby areas. The species is widely distributed in North America, with populations found in states such as North Carolina, South Carolina, Connecticut, Florida, Kentucky, Massachusetts, Michigan, New York, and Ohio. They’re mostly found in abandoned fields with shrubs and trees and bordered by tall deciduous trees. The Blue-Winged Warblers are generally found in areas located in higher elevation and high percentage of grass and canopy cover.


Diet consists of insects, and spiders. Blue-Winged Warblers primarily feed on insects found in various plants including apple trees, walnut trees, and water hemlock. Adults sometimes hang upside down to glean and probe leaves and gather insect larvae for their young. Some examples of larvae fed to juvenile Blue-Winged Warblers include Aphis sp., and Corythucha sp. Often, researchers presume that the species's diet and feeding methods tend to differ on each season and habitat, and may also change due to the availability of resources. This could be considered a relatively generalist species.


Blue-winged warblers nest on the ground or low in a bush, laying four to seven eggs in a cup nest. The females incubate the eggs for 10–11 days. The young are altricial and fledge in 8–10 days.  The blue winged species communicate with others via singing. Hence, they have songs for fighting (descending bee-buzz), nesting, as well as breeding with other Blue-Winged Warblers. During breeding season, the males arrive first in the location and wait for their possible mate. Usually, the females arrive one week after the males. While waiting for their mates, the males sing continuously. Once the females enter, the singing decreases and could possibly change in tune until they find a partner. After mating, the length of their song abruptly decreases.


Vernonia gigantea (also known as giant ironweed, tall ironweed or ironweed) is a species of perennial plant from family Asteraceae found in United States and Canada. The plant is native to the eastern United States, north to New York state and Ontario, and southwest to Texas.


They are described as 0.9–2.1 metres (3–7 ft) tall, or 1.5 m–3.0 m × 0.3 m–0.6 m (5 ft–10 ft × 1 ft–2 ft). The stem is either green or purplish green coloured, and can be either hairy or pubescent. The leaves are up to 250 mm (10 in) long and 50 mm (2 in) across, and are ovate. Their leaves could also be lanceolate-oblong or elliptically shaped, with serrated margins. The leaves' upper surface is hairless and is dark green in colour. The leaves' bases may have a petiole or be sessile. The flowers open from July to September and are purple in colour. They can be found growing in moist soils along roadsides, and are common in meadows and open woodlands.
The seeds are wind-dispersed. The plant is self-incompatible and exhibits substantial ecotypic variation, a factor which may explain their broad geographic distribution.


V. gigantea is a larval host to the ironweed borer moth (Papaipema cerussata) and the red groundling moth (Perigea xanthioides).


Vernonia missurica, the Missouri ironweed, is a species of purple-flowered perennial plant from family Asteraceae found growing in the central United States.


The plant is 90–150 cm (3–5 ft) high and 90–120 cm (3–4 ft) wide,  and in some cases the plant can exceed up to 180 cm (6 ft). The leaves of the plant are dark green in color and alternate.


The flowers bloom from July to August, and are magenta colored with reddish-brown bracts. Each flower is 100–180 mm (4–7 in) long and 15 mm (1⁄2 in) across, with 30–60 disk florets. They have central stout stem that is covered with white hairs. The flowers grow close to each other and have rayless heads. Their stems are hairy and reddish-brown in color.


The bloom period begins in the late summer and ends in the fall. This is typically visited by long-tongued bees, butterflies and skippers.  In the absence of these pollinators, the plant is capable of self pollinating.


The plant grows in river bottom woods, wet prairies, fens, and sedge meadows.


The plant is pollinated by various bees such as bumblebees, epeoline cuckoo, halictid bees, and miner bees. Butterflies and skippers are also frequent visitors. Some of the caterpillars feed on the plant. The most common guests are Grammia parthenice (Parthenice tiger moth), Perigea xanthioides (red groundling), and Papaipema cerussata (ironweed borer moth). Herbivorous mammals avoid the plant due to their bitter taste.


Veronica americana, variously called American brooklime or American speedwell, is a plant native to temperate and arctic Asia and North America where it grows in streams and bottomlands.
It is a herbaceous perennial with glabrous stems 10–100 cm long that bear terminal or axillary racemes or spikes of soft violet flowers. The leaves are 1.5–8 cm long and 3 to 20 times as long as wide, short-petiolate, glabrous, serrate to almost entire.
The plant can be confused with Scutellaria (skullcap) and other members of the mint family.  Members of the mint family have square sided stems, and Veronica species have rounded stems.


Veronica anagallis-aquatica is a species of flowering plant in the family Plantaginaceae known by the common names water speedwell, blue water-speedwell,brook pimpernel, and sessile water-speedwell. It is also listed as Veronica catenata.
Its true native range is not clear, but the plant is present on most continents, and in most places it is probably naturalized. It occurs in many types of moist and wet habitat, and it is semi-aquatic, often growing in shallow water along streambanks, in ponds, and in other wetland environments. It is a rhizomatous perennial herb with stems growing 10 centimeters to about a meter in maximum length. It may be decumbent, the stem spreading along the ground and rooting where it touches moist substrate, or erect in form. The oppositely arranged leaves are green, smooth-edged or toothed, and sometimes clasping the stem where the leaf pairs meet at the bases. The inflorescence is a raceme of many flowers arising from the leaf axils. Each flower is borne on a short, curving pedicel. The flower corolla is up to a centimeter wide with four lobes, the upper lobe being widest. It is blue, lavender, or violet with purple lines near the base of each lobe. At the center are two small protruding stamens.


It is listed as threatened in Indiana, and as endangered in Massachusetts, New Jersey, and Tennessee.


It is a hairy, erect to almost recumbent, annual herb, 9 to 40 centimetres (3.5 to 15.7 in) high from a taproot. The leaves are oppositely arranged in pairs about the stem. The lower leaves have short petioles; the upper are sessile. Each leaf, 1.5 to 2.5 centimetres (0.59 to 0.98 in) in length, is ovate, or triangular with a truncated or slightly cordate base, with coarse teeth. Borne in a raceme, initially compact but elongating with age, the flowers are pale blue to blue-violet, 2 to 3 mm in diameter, four-lobed with a narrow lowest lobe. Flower stalks are 0.5 to 2 millimetres (0.020 to 0.079 in) and shorter than the bracts. The fruit capsules are heart-shaped and shorter than the sepal-teeth. It flowers from April to October.


It is native to Africa, Asia and Europe.


Veronica arvensis plants go through changes in their germination due to temperature and light, furthermore explaining what controls the timing of growth in buried seed reserves. These weeds tend to germinate in consistent temperature ranges of 10 degrees Celsius to 15 degrees Celsius. If they do not make the first autumn cycle of growth, they can grow in the following spring. Overall, light is a major source to their survival and growth. In other words, they can grow in darkness, however they will remain dormant unless they get light.


Veronica chamaedrys, the germander speedwell, bird's-eye speedwell, or cat's eyes, is a herbaceous perennial species of flowering plant in the plantain family Plantaginaceae.


Veronica chamaedrys can grow to 50 cm (20 in) tall, but is frequently shorter, with stems that are hairy only along two opposite sides. The leaves are in opposite pairs, triangular and crenate, sessile or with short petioles.  The flowers are deep blue with a zygomorphic (bilaterally symmetrical) four-lobed corolla, 8–12 mm (0.3–0.5 in) wide. The capsules are wider than they are long.
The blossoms of this plant wilt very quickly upon picking, which has given it the ironic name "Männertreu", or "men's faithfulness" in German.
Veronica chamaedrys is a common, hardy turf so-called weed when it invades turf and lawns. It creeps along the ground, spreading by sending down roots at the stem nodes. It is propagated both by seed and stem fragments. Leaves may defoliate in the summer and winter but the stems will grow again next season.  Unlike at least five other common speedwell species, such as corn speedwell (Veronica arvensis), the leaves are opposite on both the upper and lower parts of the plant. See Veronica for special weed control considerations.
The specific name chamaedrys is a combining form meaning "low" or "on the ground" derived from ancient Greek.


This species is native to Europe. It is found on other continents as an introduced species.


Veronica chamaedrys has been used in traditional Austrian herbal medicine internally (as tea) for disorders of the nervous system, respiratory tract, cardiovascular system, and metabolism. In 18th century Britain, the plant had the reputation of being a cure for gout as well as being popular for making tea, the latter being so prevalent that the plant was nearly eradicated from London during the 18th century.


Veronica hederifolia, the ivy-leaved speedwell, is a flowering plant belonging to the family Plantaginaceae. It is native to Europe, western Asia and north Africa and it is present in other places as an introduced species and a common weed.  Solitary blue flowers occur in leaf axils, each with a corolla up to one centimetre (0.4 in) wide. The fruit is a dehiscent capsule.


It is an annual herb with procumbent to climbing stems up to 60 centimetres (24 in) long. The stems are green to purplish, round, with abundant spreading, wavy hairs 1 mm long (but forming a thick line along one side of the stem). The leaves are opposite, becoming alternate higher up the stem, with 4-15 mm long petioles and no stipules. The blades are divided shallowly into 5 lobes, like ivy, (sometimes 3-7 lobes or entire), darker above than below, up to 1.5 cm long, and are downy above and below with long hairs on the margins.
The flowers are solitary in the leaf axils on pedicels up to 18 mm long. The calyx has four triangular lobes which expand after flowering. There are 4-5 pale lilac petals, 2 mm long, with darker veins. There are 2 stamens, with blue anthers, and one style. The fruits are glabrous, 2-celled (sometimes 1-3) capsules.


It was named by Linnaeus in Species Plantarum in 1753. The specific epithet "hederifolia" simply means "ivy-leaved."
There are three subspecies: hederifolia, lucorum (Klett & Richt.) Hartl and insularis Gamisans. The latter occurs only in Corsica.


It is thought to be native to southern Europe and widely naturalised outside that range, including in northern Europe as far as Scandinavia, in the United States, Japan, Australia, New Zealand, and scattered places elsewhere.
In Britain, it is ubiquitous throughout the lowlands, becoming rare only in the mountains of Cumbria and the Highlands and Islands of Scotland. In Ireland it has a similarly south-easterly distribution, fading out in the west.


In Britain, it is mainly associated with inhabited areas, being common in towns and villages where it grows in gardens, hedges, road sides and on waste ground. It is also found, less commonly, in arable fields and more wild places. It is a lowland plant; its maximum recorded altitude was 380 m at Malham Moor in Yorkshire (although that was in 1888, so it might have been an atypical occurrence).


Veronica officinalis, the heath speedwell, common gypsyweed, common speedwell, or Paul's betony, is a species of flowering plant in the plantain family Plantaginaceae. It is native to Europe and western Asia. It has been introduced to North America and is widely naturalised there.


It is a herbaceous perennial with hairy green stems 10–50 cm (3.9–19.7 in) long that cover the ground in mats and send up short vertical shoots which bear soft violet flowers. The leaves are 1.5–5 cm (0.59–1.97 in) and 1–3 cm (0.39–1.18 in) broad, and softly hairy.
It flowers from May until August.


This speedwell grows in open areas, such as fields, meadows and gardens, where it is sometimes grown as an edible, or medicinal herb.
The slightly bitter and astringent taste and tea-like smell of speedwell led to its use as a tea substitute in 19th-century France, where it was called thé d'Europe, or "Europe tea". The French still use this term as a name for speedwell.


Veronica persica is an annual or winter annual herb that reproduces from seed.
Its cotyledons are triangular with truncated bases. The short-stalked leaves are broadly ovate with coarsely serrated margins, and measure one to two centimetres (0.4 to 0.8 in) long. The leaves are paired on the lower stem and are alternately arranged on the upper parts. The plant has weak stems that form a dense, prostrate groundcover. The tips of stems often grow upright.
The flowers are roughly one centimetre (0.4 in) wide and are sky-blue with dark stripes and white centers. They are zygomorphic, having only one vertical plane of symmetry. They are solitary on long, slender, hairy stalks in the leaf axils.
The seeds are transversely rugose and measure between one and two millimetres (0.04 and 0.08 in) long. There are five to 10 seeds per locule in the fruit.
Veronica persica can be distinguished from similar species by its heart-shaped fruit with two widely-separated lobes.


The plant grows in fields and lawns. It prefers moist conditions and grows well in loamy soil.


Although many species in the genus are used in gardens (such as V. exalta, V. incana, V. gentianoides, V. longifolia, V. perfoliata, and V. spicata), this species is generally seen as a weed and has no known horticultural uses.


Afghani herbalist, Mahomet Allum, used the plant to treat patients with heart trouble, in Adelaide, Australia, in the mid-20th century.
It is also used for snakebite treatment, hemorrhaging, rheumatoid arthritis, asthma, and as an expectorant.


Veronica serpyllifolia, the thyme-leaved speedwell or thymeleaf speedwell, is a perennial flowering plant in the plantain family. It is native to Europe, but can be found elsewhere on most continents as an introduced species.


Veronica serpyllifolia L. initially grows low to the ground then will start to grow upright. The flowers are small, white, and have dark purple marks on their petals. The leaves are oval, borne on creeping stems. Roots grow from leaf axils. The prostrate stems bear erect flowering branches up to 20 cm high. The leaves are opposite on short stalks. The flowers are in racemes with a corolla 6 mm wide.  The first leaves of the seedling have no petiole, are hairless, and have a smooth margin. Their stems grow from nodes on the rhizomes, allowing it to grow in thick mats close to the ground. The lower leaves are oval and have smooth margins. The upper leaves are oval shaped but smaller than the lower leaves. The lower leaves have relatively short stalks, while the higher or upper leaves are stalkless (lack petioles). Flowers have four petals and grow from the leaf axils. The fruits are capsules. The capsules are obcordate or heart shaped, mostly flattened and have a pubescent outer layer with a notched tip. Veronica serpyllifolia capsules are approximately 2.5-3.5 mm long. Once the capsules are mature, they open to release many small seeds. Their root systems are both fibrous and rhizomatous. The fruit is lined with hairs and the seeds on the inside of the capsule are also flattened. This plant can be hard to spot as it is relatively small and grows in patches which can be covered by grass. They are more noticeable when they bloom. Veronica serpyllifolia reproduces either by dropping its seeds or by rooting stems.


Veronica serpyllifolia L., commonly known as thyme-leaved speedwell, is native to Europe and is introduced to North America and New Zealand. As of 2010, it is known to occur in 37 of the US states and is considered a weed in North America. Veronica serpyllifolia frequently occurs in open grass lands and cultivated areas on lighter soils.  Veronica serpyllifolia grows in full sunlight, tolerates partial shade, and thrives in a moist environment during the spring . They can grow in elevations up to 3300 m.


Pollinators of V. serpyllifolia include flies and bees that visit the flowers for nectar.  The seeds can be dispersed by attaching onto the wings of birds or the fur of some animals. Veronica serpyllifolia seeds were found in cattle dung, thus cattle or other grazers are likely important dispersers of the plant.


Synonyms of Veronica serpyllifolia include: Veronicastrum serpyllifolium (L.) Fourr. and Veronica serpyllifolia L. var. nummularioides Lecoq & Lamotte.


Veronica serpyllifolia is able to grow in both jurisdictional wetlands and non-wetlands. According the wetland plant classification system in the United States, V. serpyllifolia is classified as a facultative (FAC) to obligate (OBL) wetland plant.


Veronica spicata (spiked speedwell; syn. Pseudolysimachion spicatum) is a species of flowering plant in the family Plantaginaceae. It is 1–3 feet (0.30–0.91 m) tall and bears 1 foot long spikes with blue, pink, purple and white flowers.
It is the county flower of Montgomeryshire in the United Kingdom. Cultivated varieties include blue ('Royal Candles'), red ('Red Fox') and white ('Noah Williams').
It became a protected species in the UK in 1975 under the Conservation of Wild Creatures and Wild Plants Act.


Hebe stricta, commonly called koromiko, is a flowering plant in the family Plantaginaceae, which is endemic to New Zealand. Recently Hebe stricta has been reclassified and the botanical name has changed to Veronica stricta.
A hebe found throughout the Mainland New Zealand, with long pale green leaves and tiny white flowers in summer formed into a dense inflorescence longer than the leaves.
The koromiko is a hardy plant and does not tolerate shade.  It prefers full sun and open habitats on edge of bush and wetlands as it tolerates wet areas.


The young leaves and shoots are eaten to control diarrhoea and dysentery
It is a pioneer plant useful to plant as a nurse crop for revegetation planting.


These synonyms are cited by  Germplasm Resources Information Network
Hebe macroura (Hook. f. ex Benth.) Cockayne & Allan [≡ Hebe stricta var. macroura]
Hebe parkinsoniana (Colenso) Cockayne
Hebe salicifolia var. angustissima (Cockayne) Cockayne & Allan [= Hebe stricta var. atkinsonii]
Hebe salicifolia var. atkinsonii (Cockayne) Cockayne & Allan [≡ Hebe stricta var. atkinsonii]
Hebe salicifolia var. stricta (Banks & Sol. ex Benth.) Cockayne & Allan
Veronica macroura Hook. f. ex Benth. [≡ Hebe stricta var. macroura]
Veronica parkinsoniana Colenso
Veronica salicifolia var. angustissima Cockayne [= Hebe stricta var. atkinsonii]
Veronica salicifolia var. atkinsonii Cockayne [≡ Hebe stricta var. atkinsonii]
Veronica salicifolia var. stricta (Banks & Sol. ex Benth.) Hook. f.
Veronica stricta Banks & Sol. ex Benth. (basionym)
 This article incorporates public domain material from websites or documents of the United States Department of Agriculture.


Veronica wormskjoldii is a species of flowering plant in the plantain family known by the common name American alpine speedwell. It is native to much of northern and western North America, including the western United States and northern Canada, from where it grows in moist alpine habitat, such as mountain forest understory. It has a wide subarctic distribution from Alaska to Greenland.


It is a rhizomatous perennial herb producing a decumbent to erect, mostly unbranched stem up to 25 to 40 centimeters tall and coated in long hairs. The oppositely arranged leaves are 2 to 4 centimeters long and lack petioles. The inflorescence is a hairy, glandular raceme of flowers at the tip of the stem. Each flower has hairy, lance-shaped sepals and a blue corolla up to a centimeter wide. The fruit is a capsule around half a centimeter long which contains tiny flattened seeds.


The European hornet (Vespa crabro) is the largest eusocial wasp native to Europe. It is also the only true hornet (genus Vespa) found in North America, having been introduced by European settlers in the 1800s. Vespines, such as V. crabro, are known for making intricate paper-like nests out of surrounding plant materials and other fibers. Unlike most other vespines, reproductive suppression involves worker policing instead of queen pheromone control, as was previously thought.
This species stings in response to being stepped on or grabbed, but generally avoids conflict. It is also defensive of its nest and can be aggressive around food sources. Care should be taken when they are found in these circumstances, as they may sting without warning. European hornets are largely carnivorous and hunt large insects such as beetles, wasps, large moths, dragonflies, and mantises. They also feed on fallen fruit and other sources of sugary food. Mutual predation between medium-sized hornets and the Asilidae (robber flies) is often reported.


The eyes of V. crabro are deeply indented and shaped like a "C". Its wings are reddish-orange, while the petiolate abdomen is striped with brown and yellow. It has hair on the thorax and abdomen, although the European hornet is not as hairy as most bees. Due to this coloration and abdomen pattern, V. crabro is often mistaken for the Asian giant hornet. Typical mass size for the European Hornet is 477.5±59.9 mg. Workers average around 25 mm (1.0 in) in length, while the larger queens can reach up to 35 mm (1.4 in). This is significantly larger than most common wasps (such as Vespula vulgaris), but smaller than the Asian giant hornet. Females are typically larger than males in both size and mass. However, male abdomens have seven segments, whereas female abdomens have six.  There is a cerebral ganglion, two thoracic ganglia, and five abdominal ganglia. Only females possess a stinger; males cannot sting. The antennae of males are slightly longer, with 13 segments compared to twelve segments in females.


Individuals typically live in paper nests, which consist of a pedicle (a paper comb on the inside), an envelope, and a single entry hole on the outside. Materials such as twigs, branches, and other available plant resources are broken up, chewed, and shaped into a nest by the workers. These pieces are not uniform in shape, but are glued together very closely. Because social wasps generally prefer to build nests in the dark, envelopes are commonly found surrounding the nests to make them dark if the colony could not locate a dark crevice in which to build.


The nest is composed of a paper-pulp mixture created by female workers chewing up dead bark, trees, or plant matter from nearby surroundings and mixing it with their saliva. To build the actual comb, saliva is used as a cement to piece together organic and inorganic materials that are readily available to the colony. This cement not only holds together the comb, but also protects the comb from being damaged by water. It provides a protective barrier to help protect the colony from wind or other harsh weather conditions. Available resources, location, and amount of mastication affect the final nest's appearance, so much variation is seen among the nests of V. crabro.


V. crabro prefers to build nests in dark places, usually hollow tree trunks. After the site has been chosen, the queen lays eggs in the combs inside the nest. The workers dispose of any eggs that are not laid by their queen; this behavior is called worker policing. Based on laboratory data, the average rate of egg-laying is 2.31 eggs per day. However, in this same nest, cell construction rate was only 1.63 cells per day.
V. crabro colonies seasonally change strategies of obtaining food for both the larvae and adults. In April, when the queen normally lays her eggs, the workers actively go out and forage. Later, typically around the fall season, the foraging workers switch to scavengers. Instead of putting forth the effort to catch food sources, the workers try to take what is more easily available. For example, European hornets have been seen hovering around garbage cans and picnic areas in the fall.


Very few workers lay eggs in healthy V. crabro colonies. While only queens mate and produce fertilized female eggs, workers are capable of laying haploid male eggs. Workers are generally more closely related to male offspring of other workers than to male offspring of the queen. Workers would have reproductive benefits from laying male eggs, but do not do so. This was originally thought to be caused by pheromone control by the queen, but new evidence has shown that this is not the case. Workers enforce sterility on one another in a strategy known as worker policing. Workers either physically destroy worker-laid eggs or discriminate against those workers that attempt to lay eggs. Ensuring that only the queen reproduces is thought to be likely to benefit the organization and productivity of the colony as a whole, by reducing conflicts.


Unwarranted fear of V. crabro has often led to the destruction of nests. This has led to the decline of the species, which is often locally threatened or even endangered. European hornets benefit from legal protection in some countries, notably Germany, where killing a European hornet or nest has been illegal since January 1, 1987, with a fine up to €50,000.
However, the highest reported fine levied in Germany for killing of wasps was 45 euros, and experts report that fines are rarely imposed.


Most cases of stings from V. crabro do not require medical attention, but rarely can be serious. A documented case requiring treatment displayed symptoms including tingling at the site of the sting, headaches, and shortness of breath. In the hospital, the victim was found to have a fast, irregular heartbeat with a blood pressure of 111/63. A subsequent EKG demonstrated atrial fibrillation with a rapid ventricular response. V. crabro venom contains neurotransmitters such as dopamine, serotonin, histamine and noradrenalineneurotoxin apamin, as well as enzymes phospholipase A and hyaluronidase, and proteins melittin and bradykinin. These compounds have been shown to cause episodes of tachycardia in smaller animals. The mechanism of the described attack is still undetermined, but the victim was possibly abnormally susceptible to vespine stings. Currently, the two most effective treatments for reactions are electrical cardioversion or propafenone. The victim in this case study was given an oral dose of propafenone (150 mg) and his atrial fibrillation resolved.


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Vespula germanica (European wasp, German wasp, or German yellowjacket) is a species of wasp found in much of the Northern Hemisphere, native to Europe, Northern Africa, and temperate Asia. It has spread and become well-established in many other places, including North America, South America (Argentina and Chile), Australia, South Africa,  and New Zealand. German wasps are part of the family Vespidae and are sometimes mistakenly referred to as paper wasps because they build grey paper nests, although strictly speaking, paper wasps are part of the subfamily Polistinae. In North America, they are also known as yellowjackets.


Vespula germanica belongs to the genus Vespula, which includes various species of social wasps that are found throughout the Northern Hemisphere. In North America, these wasps are most commonly known as yellowjackets, but this name also applies to species within the sister genus Dolichovespula. Members of Vespula are often confused with other genera, especially the paper wasp Polistes dominula. Colonies of V. germanica share many characteristics with those of V. vulgaris (common wasp) and V. pensylvanica (western yellowjacket), so they are very often studied together.


The German wasp is about 13 mm (0.5 in) long, has a mass of 74.1 ± 9.6 mg, and has typical wasp colours of black and yellow. It is very similar to the common wasp (V. vulgaris), but unlike the common wasp, has three tiny black dots on the clypeus. To further complicate the issue this only applies to workers. It is best practice to first work out if your wasp is a worker, queen or drone before separating it into vulgaris vs germanica. Gastral pattern (the black dots or marks on the abdomen) are highly variable and not good characteristics to use in identifying. However, the identification of a wasp as V. vulgaris may be difficult because the normally unbroken black mark on its clypeus can sometimes appear broken (particularly males) making it look extremely similar to V. germanica.


A single queen initiates a nest in the spring by constructing an embryonic nest, which contains a series of hexagonal cells. These cells are used to house one wasp through the immature stages of life: egg, larval instar, and pupa. The colony grows rapidly during the summer with a huge increase in worker numbers and nest size. By the end of summer, the rate of growth slows considerably and more males are produced than workers, and the focus is shifted from building small cells to building cells that are 30-40 percent larger. These new cells house the new queens and males. In the fall, the new queens begin hibernation, while the old queens die off and the colony collapses. In some cases, the nests may survive through the winter and reach the next season. If this occurs, the nest will become polygynous and reach a much larger size than in the previous year.
V. germanica nests are strongly affected by climate. Average colonies in Australia contain over 9500 small workers and 3600 large queen and male cells. By the end of May, colonies in Australia have 15,000 wasps emerging from small cells and 2500 wasps emerging from the large cells. By comparison, nests in the British Isles only have 6100–6500 small cells and 1500 large cells on average, in roughly eight combs. Additionally, a significant number of nests in Australia are able to survive the winter, whereas in England none of the nests survive. This demonstrates how V. germanica nests can reach a substantial size in appropriate climate conditions.


High variation in the sequence and diversity of tasks performed by V. germanica workers suggests limited temporal polyethism exists within the species. Temporal polyethism is a mechanism in which workers specialize on tasks in a sequential order throughout their lives, instead of performing numerous tasks concurrently. The typical order of tasks in V. germanica is nest work, pulp foraging, carbohydrate foraging and protein foraging. Approximately 61 percent of the wasps observed perform more than two of these tasks during their lifetimes. Additionally, about 40 percent of the wasps specialize on only one task per day, but these individuals varied with respect to age and sequence of task performance. The schedule of temporal polyethism found in V. germanica is highly accelerated when compared to other Hymenoptera, which is likely related to worker lifespan. Vespula workers may not live long enough to benefit from a strict system of worker specialization, in which workers repeatedly perform one task.


Vespula germanica queens are typically polyandrous. The queens mate with a moderate number of males, usually between one and seven, with no optimal number of mates. In addition, mating events are independent of each other, which discredits the hypothesis that queens terminate mating behavior after mating with a male that possesses an optimal set of attributes.
V. germanica workers are unable to mate and so incapable of producing diploid offspring. In some nests, however, the workers produce haploid male offspring from unfertilized eggs. Worker reproduction has been documented in other Vespula wasp colonies, but usually only after the death of the queen. However, workers of V. germanica have been found reproducing in the presence of a queen.


Vespula germanica workers are known to be opportunistic predators and scavengers. They are efficient at hunting for small, live food sources and at collecting from large stationary sources. It is believed that the flexibility in V. germanica's foraging behavior is a key factor in their ability to rapidly colonize new areas in a variety of ecological environments. As scavengers, V. germanica are forced to make numerous trips between the location of the food source and the nest, where the larvae are kept and fed. This calls for V. germanica foragers to be adept at relocating earlier food sources.


The ability to relocate previously discovered food sources is only one example of the diverse cognitive mechanisms at play within V. germanica's behaviors. V. germanica foragers continue to visit a feeder after food removal, but are able to rapidly remove associations that no longer provide a reward. The amount of time that the foragers continue to search these sites depends on the number of times they had visited it in the past. The choices made by V. germanica take into account both current and past experiences. These abilities imply that these wasps have important learning and memory capacities which enable them to memorize various resource characteristics, including the route to resources, as well as specific spatial location with respect to local landmarks. In addition, V. germanica wasps have been shown to have sensorimotor learning capacities which allow them to associate visual stimuli with certain motor responses. This reported high cognitive plasticity enables V. germanica wasps to inhabit a variety of regions. Its flexibility in nesting and diet habits in conjunction with its foraging capabilities may help explain the success with which V. germanica has invaded so many different ecological areas.


V. germanica queens are typically polyandrous. Because the queen mates with multiple males, the workers are more closely related to the queen's sons than to sons of other workers. These asymmetries in relatedness are believed to be a factor leading to worker policing within colonies.


Male reproductive skew within V. germanica indicates that males do not contribute equally to the production of offspring when compared to females. The level of skew observed was higher among males in nests with queens that mated with multiple males. Reproductive skew may be linked to patterns of sex allocation, but sex ratio data for Vespula colonies suggest that a split-sex ratio is not produced. This contradicts the theory that the reproductive skew seen in V. germanica is part of an evolutionary strategy of males due to asymmetries in relatedness.


Worker policing is selected for when it benefits the colony. The benefits are gained through various measures, such as increasing colony efficiency and establishing a female-based sex-allocation ratio. Worker policing is especially common in colonies where queens mate with multiple males. Thus on average, the workers are more closely related to sons of the queen than to those of other workers. In the past, V. germanica was thought to be an exception to the general pattern that high mating frequency led to low levels of worker reproduction. However, recent studies indicate that while worker reproduction occurs at a considerable rate, worker policing keeps these worker-laid eggs from reaching adulthood. This is demonstrated by a study carried out in Belgium, showing that while an estimated 58.4 percent of male eggs were laid by workers, only 0.44 percent of adult males were workers' sons. The numbers indicate the efficiency with which worker policing is carried out. Policing by aggression, which prevents workers from laying eggs in the first place, leads to increases in colony productivity, while policing by eating the eggs of workers is more likely to result in sex-ratio benefits.


V. germanica wasps have a diverse diet. They are known to eat carrion, live arthropods (including spiders;), fruit, honeydew, and processed human food and garbage. They are opportunistic scavengers and hunters able to obtain food from a variety of different sources. For example, many Vespula species have been observed feeding on dead honey bees (Apis mellifera) found outside the beehive entrance in the late summer. This flexibility in diet is beneficial, as V. germanica must often compete for resources with native biota in areas it invades.


Female bee moths (Aphomia sociella) have been known to lay eggs in the nests of V. germanica. Hatched larvae will then feed on the eggs, larvae, and pupae left unprotected by the wasp, sometimes destroying large parts of the nest as they tunnel throughout looking for food.


The species is considered a pest in most areas outside its native range, although its long residency in North America means it is not treated with any level of urgency there, unlike in areas such as South America, where the introduction is more recent and the impacts more dramatic.
Along with the closely related common wasp (Vespula vulgaris) and three species of Polistes paper wasps, the German wasp is considered a pest in New Zealand. It was probably introduced in the late 19th century, but did not appear in large numbers until around 1940. Wasp numbers reach their greatest densities in beech forest of the South Island, due to the abundant honeydew produced by the beech-scale insect there. This has a serious effect on forest ecology, as less honeydew remains available for native birds. However, German wasps were quickly succeeded in much of the South Island and its beech forests by Vespula vulgaris accidentally introduced in the 1970s.


The eastern yellow jacket or eastern yellowjacket (Vespula maculifrons) is a wasp found in eastern North America. Although most of their nests are subterranean, they are often considered a pest due to their nesting in recreational areas and buildings. This yellow jacket is a social insect, living in colonies of hundreds to thousands of individuals. Along with their subfamily, Vespinae, this species demonstrates supportive parental care for offspring, separation of reproductive and sterile castes, and overlapping generations. They aggressively defend their hives from threats and are known to inflict painful stings.


V. maculifrons is within the family Vespidae, which is commonly found throughout the Northern Hemisphere. V. maculifrons is part of the subfamily Vespinae, and these species are part of the yellowjackets. For example, V. maculifrons is commonly called the eastern yellowjacket and has the black and yellow color that distinguishes the yellowjackets. The specific name maculifrons is derived from the Latin word macula, which means spot, and frons, which means forehead. This refers to the spots on the head of species, which is another distinguishing characteristic. Like other Vespula species, V. maculifrons is a social wasp. As a result, the species participates in cooperative brood care and division between reproductive and nonreproductive groups.


V. maculifrons can be differentiated from other wasp species due to its smaller size and abdominal pattern. The most recognizable features of V. maculifrons are the black and yellow lines on the head, thorax, and abdomen. While the body is curved and wider than the head, the abdomen narrows at its attachment to the thorax, which is thinner than the abdomen. The lines on the abdomen also differ based on caste, with the queens having one flared black line nearest the thorax followed by thinner black lines. Queens also have two black dots between each black line. Individuals of this species range in size from 12.7–15.9 mm (0.5–0.625 in). and weigh roughly 0.0014 oz (0.04 g). The queens are the largest, followed by the males, and then the workers.
A V. maculifrons nest can range from 94–300 mm (3.7–11.8 in) in diameter, allowing for hundreds to thousands of workers inside. A large nest can contain 10,000 to 15,000 cells, with a little less than a third of them dedicated to the larger queen cells. The envelope of the nest is tan-brown to red-orange in color. It is constructed out of worn, decaying wood, which results in a fragile structure. These nests are typically subterranean, but have been found in various sites above ground, including buildings.


V. maculifrons is commonly found throughout eastern North America to the Great Plains. In most of the areas where it is found, V. maculifrons is the most common yellowjacket species. In the spring, the queen selects the spot where the colony will be located. Their subterranean nests are not deep, mostly covered by less than 50 mm (2 in) of soil. However, nests have been found from just under the surface to 250 mm (9.8 in) deep. These nests are found in hardwood forests and creek banks, but also in urban and suburban areas. Within these areas, nests are typically built in sheltered places, which can include underground areas, tree stumps, and attics. Their nests are so frequently found in recreational and residential areas, they are seen as a pest problem.
The queen begins the initial structure of the nest. By chewing wood and adding in saliva to make a quick-drying pulp, these wasps assemble paper nests. The first part of the nest constructed is the stalk, which eventually narrows into a cord and then expands again to make the first hexagonal cell. Other cells are then added to the sides of the first and an envelope is built around the first group of cells which form a miniature comb. The queen then lays eggs in these cells, which will become workers when hatched. As soon as the workers emerge from their larval state, the nest begins to enlarge rapidly. As more cells are added, the comb grows fast, and when enough cells are on the first comb, a second comb is added, and so on. To make room for more cells, the inner layers of the envelope are rechewed and used to make more envelope layers outside. Because most of the nests are located underground, the cavity in which the nest is built is enlarged by removing soil, carrying it and dropping it outside the nest.


A colony consists of three types of individuals in a social group: queens, workers, and males. New colonies are founded annually during the spring. This is determined by location, but will occur around May or June in the northern regions and around September in southern regions. Due to the seasonal differences, the northern cycle is typically shorter than in the south, resulting in smaller nest sizes. A queen, which mated earlier in the year and spent the winter in diapause, founds a colony by raising the first group of workers. Until the first offspring emerge as adults, the lone queen lays eggs, forages for food, cares for the young, and defends the nest. These workers maintain and expand the nest when they mature, while the queen continues to produce more offspring. The workers' job is to build 850 to 9700 cells, of which about 30% are dedicated to queen cells. When these queen cells begin to be constructed, the nest is said to have matured. In the north, colonies peak around August or September, while southern colonies tend to peak around October to November. When winter comes, the colony dies and only some of the queens survive to begin a new colony the next nesting cycle.


A queen is capable of mating starting 48 hours after emerging from the pupal stage. To find a male, queens fly to trees and bushes where males form aggregations. Males frequently groom their legs, antennae, and gasters throughout courtship, mating, and after contact with a queen. The queens have also been seen to groom the face and antennae, but only briefly. At the end of copulation, a queen is able to produce an olfactory or contact pheromone to signal release to the male. The queen also begins to nibble the dorsal surface of the male's gaster to further signal the end of copulation. Since both queens and males can mate multiple times, the queen's signals are advantageous if her spermatheca is full, thereby preventing the waste of resources and time. Male having strong genitalic locks for mating is also advantageous, due to male-male competition, but can cause problems during disengagement. In the laboratory, both females and males have died during disengagement, sometimes leaving reproductive ends attached to the opposite sex.


As a social species, V. maculifrons colonies depend on collaboration. However, polyandry tends to create subfamilies with lower relatedness, which can lead to conflict within the colony. Yet, V. maculifrons queens, and many other species’ queens, mate multiply. This occurrence is explained because potential conflict between subfamilies is offset by the reproductive success of queens; the mate number of queens is correlated to the number of queen cells a colony creates. This phenomenon may occur due to higher genetic diversity, which could lead to genetically varying workers that are more efficient at their jobs.


As seen in many social insects, cuticular lipids are a source of communication among adults. In general, cuticular lipids function to avoid dehydration by acting as a seal to keep moisture in. However, the hydrocarbons on the surface of cuticular lipids can also serve in identifying the individual's species, and more importantly, kin. Kin recognition occurs because each species has a unique cuticular hydrocarbon composition. However, the composition between V. maculifrons and V. squamosa is very similar. This occurrence is advantageous to V. squamosa because the species is a social parasite of V. maculifrons, and their similar hydrocarbon compositions can act as a chemical camouflage to help V. squamosa parasitize nests. Also, minor differences occur between the cuticular hydrocarbon compositions of workers and queens.


When queen cell construction begins in late August to early September, it is in the male's best interest to mate with a queen and produce a gyne. Similar wasp species illustrate workers that help their own kin or harm nonrelatives from growing as a gyne. Thus, reproductive competition occurs so that the genes of specific subfamilies can be passed on and survive. However, no evidence of reproductive competition exists within V. maculifrons colonies. Although a second male may occasionally attempt to grasp a queen immediately after copulation with another male, postcopulatory sperm competition is not common. In addition, reproductive skew among males is low.


V. maculifrons is a polyphagous species, meaning that they feed on a variety of foods. The number of trips a worker makes to forage depends on the age of the worker, as well as the size of the nest, since more food is necessary to feed a larger nest. Workers dedicated to foraging are capable of olfactory learning, allowing them to distinguish odors specific to food. Workers use this ability to scavenge for dead insects such as earwigs and fall webworm larvae, as well as live arthropods. They are also frugivores, obtaining carbohydrates from fruits, nectar, and honeydew. Workers go to flowers in an attempt to catch insects, but often end up feeding on nectar and pollinating the flower while doing so. They feed on honeydew, which is a sweet, sticky liquid. However, honeydew is susceptible to fermentation, causing individuals that feed on it to become inebriated and unable to fly or walk. Since this species is attracted to sugar sources, they may be attracted to soft drinks or other foods consumed by humans. Adults feed larvae with a chewed paste made from other insects and carrion.


V. maculifrons has many predators; most are mammals much larger than the wasps, such as raccoons, black bears, and skunks. Raccoons have been found to be one of the main predators in Georgia and Indiana. To consume the colony, raccoons dig to uncover the nest, distribute brood cells, and finally scrape individual broods away from the cell using their teeth. Dolichovespula maculata is another predator of V. maculifrons and other yellowjacket species. Predation of V. maculifrons may occur over other wasp species due to the shallow depths and fragile envelopes of their nests.


Vespula squamosa is a common parasite of V. maculifrons, though they are facultative, which means they can live both independently and parasitically. Roughly 80% of V. squamosa colonies are parasitic, which can be determined if any V. maculifrons workers are present or if the nest itself has the characteristics of a V. maculifrons nest, such as its typical small, tan cells. However, parasitic colonies were not as frequent in areas of unobstructed forest. In the colonies that do become parasitic, a V. squamosa queen forcibly takes control of the nest from the host queen. Then, the host colony's workers raise the first brood of V. squamosa, until their own workers are mature. Eventually, all V. maculifrons workers will die out.


Vespula vulgaris, known as the common wasp, is a species found in regions that include the United Kingdom, Germany, India, China, New Zealand and Australia. It is sometimes known in English as the European wasp, but the same name is used for the species Vespula germanica or German wasp. In 2010, the ostensible Vespula vulgaris wasps in North America were found to be a different species, Vespula alascensis.


Vespula vulgaris is a eusocial vespid that builds its tan paper nest in or on a structure capable of supporting it. A founding queen searches for a hollow tree, wall cavity, rock crevice, or even a mammal-made hole to build a nest. One colony cycle lasts for about 6–11 months and each colony cycle produces around 3000–8000 larvae.
The extraordinary adaptation skills of V. vulgaris enable it to live in a wide range of habitats, from very humid areas to artificial environments such as gardens and human structures. This species, along with other wasp species such as V. germanica, has impacted the ecosystem, especially those in New Zealand and Australia, where they were imported by humans, and frequently cause damage to fruit crops and endanger humans.


The name Vespula vulgaris comes from the origin of the word vulgaris, which means "common" in Latin, therefore giving the name "common wasp". This species has many synonyms such as "common wasp", "European wasp", Paravespula vulgaris, or "common yellow jacket". However, a study from 2010 revealed that Vespula vulgaris and the American common yellow jacket are actually two different species, the latter now known as Vespula alascensis. It is closely related to another wasp species, Vespula austriaca, and is considered a sister taxon.
Common wasps are colloquially called "jaspers" in some English regions (Dorset, Lincolnshire, and elsewhere in the English Midlands); whether this comes from the Latin vespa or from the abdomen resembling the striped mineral jasper, is not clear.


Adult workers of V. vulgaris  measure about 12–17 mm (0.5–0.7 in) from head to tip of abdomen, and weigh 84.1 ± 19.0 mg, whereas the queen is about 20 mm (0.8 in) long. It has aposematic colors of black and yellow; yellow pronotal bands which are almost parallel to each other and black dots and rings on its abdomen. The queens and workers appear very similar to Vespula germanica, except when they are seen head on, as the V. vulgaris face lacks the three black dots of V. germanica. Instead, each has only one black mark on its clypeus, which is usually anchor or dagger-shaped. This applies to queens and workers only. In addition, identification of this species may be difficult because the black mark on its clypeus can sometimes appear broken, making it again look similar to V. germanica. It is prudent to use multiple identifying characteristics and if in any doubt to consult experts.
Still more difficult to distinguish between species are the males. Almost undetectable with the naked eye, the only confident identification of V. vulgaris males is to seek the distinct aedeagus tip shapes and lateral processes of their genitalia.


V. vulgaris is a Palearctic species. It has been discovered in a wide range of countries, including the United Kingdom, Germany, India, and China. It is invasive in New Zealand and Australia, and South America. Until 2010, it was thought to be in North America as well, but molecular and morphological data showed that specimens identified as V. vulgaris there were Vespula alascensis, which had previously been considered a taxonomic synonym, but is now considered a separate species.
V. vulgaris has high adaptation skills for environments. It flourishes in most types of habitats, including prairie, grassland, natural and planted forests, shrub lands, and even in urban zones such as gardens, orchards, and buildings. However, it does require the temperature to be moderately warm, because its foraging activity is temperature-dependent (above 2 °C [36 °F]).


Five distinguishable stages occur in V. vulgaris colony cycle in the temperate parts of the Northern Hemisphere. Each lasts for similar periods, around 30–35 days. The colony starts in April as the queen begins the foundation of the nest and degenerates around October when the temperature drops and the queen dies. The size of the colony ranges from 3000 larvae up to a maximum of 8000 larvae, with the queen producing around 200–300 eggs per day for 24 days.
Stage 1 – solitary stage: the queen builds the nest, provisions the cells and rears the first brood of workers.
Stage 2 – rapid increase: the workers replace the queen as the foraging force. The queen is now a nurse and egg producer. There is very rapid buildup of worker population.
Stage 3 – slow increase: the rate of population growth is not as rapid as in stage 2.
Stage 4 – climax of colony: worker population no longer increases. Cells built are all queen cells. Males emerge, as do unmated queens, and foraging rate per worker increases. Drones and queens mate, and the queens hibernate to emerge in the spring, when the cycle repeats with stage 1.
Stage 5 – decline: probably caused by death or sickness of queen. Colony cohesion breaks down, cannibalism sets in, and the foraging becomes erratic.


The general incubation period is five days, but it can occasionally be seven, due to cannibalism, scavenging or replacement. The larval period can depend on the trophic condition inside and outside the nest. If there are abundant resources of food being brought into the nest, the larval period is short, but if the resource is short, the period can lengthen. The first adult emerges after around 23 days of hatching and the queen-pupated brood is completed in about a month (30 days).
The first brood of workers are all of normal size, but the next generation of them is generally smaller, due to a decrease in the queen's foraging activity after producing the first batch of larvae. As the queen's foraging decreases, the second group of workers does not get so much food, often starves, and so spends more time in the larval stage.


After coming out of hibernation in the spring, the queen forages for flowers or shrubs and begins looking for nesting sites. She flies low on the ground, searching for any round, dark object or depression. If it is a hole, she flies in to inspect the details if it is suitable and if not moves on to the next hole. What constitutes a "perfect" nest is yet to be discovered, but it is mainly speculated that the queen's physiological state is the main deciding factor of the time and the place of nesting. When she has found a suitable site for nesting, she performs dance-like wing movements which allow her to locate the site even after she has left the area.
After she has fixed the position of the nest, she begins to build it. She repeats the procedure of bringing in a pulp, attaching it to the nest to form a spindle and flying back out to bring in more pulp. During this process, the queen clings to the nest with her two posterior pairs of legs and attaches the pulp using her anterior legs and mouth parts. She builds 20–30 cells before initial egg-laying, fashioning a petiole and producing a single cell at the end of it. Six further cells are then added around this to produce the characteristic hexagonal shape of the nest cells. One egg is laid in each cell, and as it hatches, each larva holds itself in the vertical cell by pressing its body against the sides.
When the nest is completed, the queen is replaced by the workers as the foraging force and instead is now concerned only with nursing and egg producing. Her ovaries develop, her abdomen becomes distended with eggs, and she loses the ability to fly.
After the founding phase has been completed, the colony encounters a change where the workers begin to build queen cells. Once the workers start building on the queen cells, no more worker cells are built, but those that still have brood growing in them are retained. The majority of the food resource brought in by the workers is fed to the queen larvae, known as gynes and the lack of feeding for other larvae causes the prolongation of their larval periods. To ensure that only the queen's eggs are reared to adulthood, female workers remove worker-laid eggs in a process known as worker policing.
When the queen has completed her job of producing daughter queen larvae, she dies, leaving a crop of virgin queens which will leave the nest, mate, hibernate, and reproduce in the following spring. After the queen's death, the coordination of the colony breaks down and the workers begin to lay eggs. The rate and amount of foraging decrease drastically after the queen's death, so it is unable to support all the workers and their brood. This is when cannibalism occurs among the workers and furthermore, the workers tear off their cells and carry them out of the nest, dropping the temperature of the entire nest. Once this stage is reached, the remaining workers die of cold or starvation.


A V. vulgaris nest is made from chewed wood fibers mixed with worker saliva. It is generally made of brittle tan coloured paper. It has open cells and a cylindrical column known as a petiole attaching the nest to the substrate. The wasps produce a chemical which repels ants and secrete it around the base of the petiole, to avoid ant predation.
Many variations are seen in the characteristics of the nests within the species. Aerial nests and nests that are very close to the surface of the ground have much thicker envelopes than those under the ground. The wasps build thick envelopes to prevent heat from escaping. Also, smaller nests have thicker envelopes than larger nests. This is mainly due to the fact that the amount of heat produced is proportional to the volume of the nest. The larger a nest is the better it will be in conserving the nest warmth. The optimal temperature of the nest is around 32 °C (90 °F). However, when the temperature rises above the optimal temperature (during hot days), the workers use their wings as fans to cool the nest down.
V. vulgaris wasps recognize their nests by making pheromone trails from the entrance of their nest to the site of foraging. Those "footprints" are not colony specific, but species specific. Although many other insects such as ants produce such pheromone trails as well, Vespula vulgaris generate pheromone either by special abdominal glands or from the gut.
Although the two species Vespula vulgaris and Vespula germanica have extremely similar biological features, characteristics of their nests are distinctive. Vespula germanica nests generally survive the winter, while those of Vespula vulgaris do not. This difference is due mainly to the variation in prey. Vespula vulgaris food sources are greatly affected by temperature, while those of Vespula germanica are not, providing them with a higher chance of survival even during the winter. Because many Vespula germanica are able to overwinter and most Vespula vulgaris are not, except for the queen, this affects the nest size of the two species. Vespula germanica generally have slightly bigger nest size (3500–9000 larvae in one colony cycle) than Vespula vulgaris (3000–8000 larvae in one colony cycle).


When the queen has found the appropriate nesting site, she orients in a similar way as the workers and flies back out of the hole. She flies frontwards and backwards in front of the nest with a slow, hovering flight and repeats this movement until its distance is further away from the hole. When the arc of the flight increases up to about 6 ft (183 cm), the pathway makes a figure of a sideways "8" and when the queen is about 60 ft (18 m) away from the nest site, she then flies in a straight line. This is how the queen Vespula vulgaris marks the land, in respect to the landmarks around the nesting site.


Only wasps leaving the nest notice a disturbance and defend or fight off an intruder. The ones returning to the nest do not detect any disturbance and try to enter the nest. The workers that detect danger show a certain gesture – they rise onto the tips of their tarsi, put forward their heads, turn down their abdomens and constantly vibrate their wings in high frequencies and short beats. This behavior signals other workers to fly to the entrance of the nest and defend. However, if the nest is disturbed enough times, the workers stop defending the nest and instead grow tolerant to such attacks. However, when they detect life-threatening level of danger, the Vespula vulgaris workers will vigorously defend their nest. Unlike honey bees, which die after stinging, Vespula vulgaris can sting multiple times. This makes its sting viable for personal defense when away from the colony, and the common wasp is therefore more apt to sting. However, it will usually not sting without being provoked by sudden movement or other violent behavior.
Research indicates the wasps use odor to identify and attack rival wasps from other colonies, and nest odor frequently changes. Vespula vulgaris wasps have been observed aggressively competing with honey bees for the honeydew secreted by the scale insect Ultracoelostoma brittini in New Zealand's South Island black beech forests.


After mating, the queen overwinters in a hole or other sheltered location, sometimes in buildings. Wasp nests are not reused from one year to the next, but in rare instances wasps have been seen to re-nest in the footprint of a removed nest or even begin building a new nest within an old nest. In the mild climate of New Zealand and Australia, a few of the colonies may survive the winter, although this is much more common with the German wasp.


The painful, though rarely life-threatening sting involves the injection of a complex venom containing amines (histamine, tyramine, serotonin, catecholamines), peptides, and proteins, including many hydrolases. The alkaline venom is quite different from bee venom, which is acidic.


The foraging activity of Vespula vulgaris is dependent on the light and temperature of the surrounding area. Generally, if the temperature of the surrounding area falls below 2 °C, the wasps will not proceed with foraging even if the temperature of the nest itself is optimal. When the temperature is above 2 °C, light intensity comes in to play a role. If the light intensity is high enough, the wasps will fly off to forage. However, there is a wide variance within the species, and even within individuals what that threshold light intensity would be – i. e. when would be the best light intensity for a wasp to go out to forage.
The foraging activities of Vespula vulgaris are generally highest in early mornings. There are three known reasons for such behavior. First is to satisfy the larval requirements. The workers fly off early in the morning to forage, as soon as their optimal light intensity is reached. They want to feed the larvae which have been starving during the night as soon as possible to reduce their chance of dying. The second reason is to maximize fluid foraging. Because dews and nectars are most abundant early in the morning and are the best sources of fluids, the workers fly off early in the morning before the competition becomes severe. Last is the necessity to release excretory products such as trophallactic secretions from the larvae.
Generally, wasps are unable to predict heavy rainfalls. They continue their foraging activities even in the rain, but cease when the rain becomes torrential. When the rainfall becomes extremely heavy near the nesting site, the workers rapidly return to their nests. Those whose foraging activities were interrupted by heavy rainfall become reluctant to forage again in the future, even when the weather is dry and calm. Those who continue to forage do so mainly for fluid.
The average life span of an adult Vespula vulgaris is known to be around two weeks (14 days). There was a negative correlation found between the age of the worker Vespula vulgaris and their respective foraging speeds, and a positive correlation between their age and the amount of time each worker spent in the nest between each foraging trip. The foraging speed decreased as the workers aged and the time a worker spent in the nest between foraging trips increased as they got older. Wasps that are over 30 days, in fact, generally cease from foraging trips and spend all of their time guarding the entrance of the nest.


Similarly to other Vespulas, Vespula vulgaris feed on animal preys such as caterpillars to feed their developing larvae and carbohydrates, such as nectar and sweet fruits, to satisfy their own energy requirements. Their usual food sources are: wood pulp, freshly killed insects such as Hymenoptera, lepidopteran larvae and Diptera and spiders. Common wasps will also attempt to invade honey bees' nests to steal their honey.
Although the types of prey Vespula vulgaris and Vespula germanica forage are almost the same, that of Vespula germanica are generally 2–3.5 times bigger and heavier than that of Vespula vulgaris. This is mainly due to the size difference of the two species. Because the Vespula germanica foragers are bigger in morphology than those of Vespula vulgaris, and they both transport the prey by carrying them, it would be advantageous for the wasp to be bigger to be able to hold larger prey.


In the early stage of the colony founding, the queen Vespula vulgaris does most of the work, both building and foraging. After the nest is completely built, she expands her foraging resources from only pulps to pulps, fluids and insect flesh. The labor divides as the first batch of larvae is hatched. However, during the very beginning of the hatching, the workers do not take part of any labor. Rather, they remain motionless with their heads inside a cell. Workers actually start foraging actively after seven days. They both forage and take care of the broods by feeding the larvae, breaking down the insect flesh, dividing fluids collected by the foragers, removing trophallactic secretion from the larvae, and fixing the nests.


One possible factor that determines a female's social caste is known to be its nest position. The location of each cell is directly related to the amount of food a larva can receive, and the queen cell, being located at the very bottom of the nest, encounters the foragers before any other cell. Therefore, it gets most of the food and naturally, yields the biggest female – the queen.
As mentioned above, the cell location can alter the size of the larva and eventually determine which female Vespula vulgaris is going to be queen. However, when several candidates of queens arise, there is competition among them. Certain variations among them rank the hierarchy of the queens and thus select the ultimate queen. Although the precise causes of the variations in the queens are still unknown, one possible factor is the amount of fat stored in the queen's body. Smaller developing queens have less fat stored, and thus have relatively higher mortality rates in winter than larger queens. The bigger the size and larger the amount of fat stored, the "higher" the queen is considered in quality, and she is able to out-compete other queens in finding a fit mate. She will then have an advantage in establishing a nest in the following spring.
In order for the Vespula vulgaris queen to dominate all the workers – usually numbering more than 3000 in a colony –she possesses a special chemical that sends signals of dominance. The workers were discovered to regularly lick the queen while feeding her, and the air-borne pheromone from the queen's body alerts those workers of her dominance.


Vespula vulgaris is subject to predation by the honey buzzard, which excavates the nests to obtain the larvae. The hoverfly Volucella pellucens and some of its relatives lay their eggs in a wasp nest, and their larvae feed on the wasps' young and dead adults. Larvae of the ripiphorid beetle Metoecus paradoxus are a parasitoid of V. vulgaris larvae. Robber fly and spiders are other predators of this and many other species. A species of parasitic mite, Varroa destructor jacobsoni, was found on larvae of this species in Poland in 1988.
In New Zealand an as yet unidentified predator/s is responsible for local extinction of Vespula (both vulgaris and germanica) on many offshore islands 5–7 years following eradication of introduced rodents. Studies including 36 islands have not identified the agent responsible.


Viburnum dentatum, southern arrowwood or arrowwood viburnum or roughish arrowwood, is a small shrub, native to the eastern United States and Canada from Maine south to northern Florida and eastern Texas.
Like most Viburnum, it has opposite, simple leaves and fruit in berry-like drupes. Foliage turns yellow to red in late fall.  Localized variations of the species are common over its entire geographic range.  Common differences include leaf size and shape and placement of pubescence on leaf undersides and petioles.
Some moth larvae feed on V. dentatum. Known such species include the unsated sallow (or arrowwood sallow; Metaxaglaea inulta) and Phyllonorycter viburnella. It is also consumed by the viburnum leaf beetle (Pyrrhalta viburni), an invasive species from Eurasia. The fruits are a food source for songbirds. Berries contain 41.3% fat.
The fruits appear blue. The major pigments are cyanidin 3-glucoside, cyanidin 3-sambubioside, and cyanidin 3-vicianoside, but the total mixture is very complex.
Native Americans used the young stems to make arrow shafts.


Viburnum dentatum var. deamii (Rehder) Fernald
Viburnum dentatum var. dentatum
Viburnum dentatum var. lucidum Fernald – currently considered a separate species; Viburnum recognitum, the northern arrowwood, or smooth arrowwood
Viburnum dentatum var. venosum (Britton) Gleason


Viburnum edule, the squashberry, mooseberry, moosomin, moosewood viburnum, pembina, pimina, highbush cranberry, or lowbush cranberry is a species of shrub native to Canada and the northern parts of the US. It stands roughly 2 m (6.5 ft) tall with many stems and smooth branches.
The tart berries ripen early in spring and are eaten by various birds and mammals. With the seeds removed, they are edible to humans as well, and can be made into jam.


It is a deciduous, dicot shrub growing 0.5–3.5 m (1.5–11.5 ft) tall. The leaves are opposite, elliptic in shape, 6–10 cm (2.4–3.9 in) long, unlobed or shallowly 3-lobed, jaggedly serrated, and turning red in autumn; their underside glabrous, especially along the veins. The bark is smooth and reddish grey in colour, the twigs glabrous. The flowers are arranged in a small, compact, and flat or rounded inflorescence 1–3 cm (0.4–1.2 in) across consisting of several flowers. The flowers are synoecious and fertile, the petals white and fused at the base forming a tube that flares into 5 lobes at the top; the stamens short (≤ 1mm) and hidden within the corolla. The fruit is an edible red or orange berry-like drupe, 0.8–1.5 cm (0.3–0.6 in) long, arranged in clusters, each fruit containing a single, flattened stone.