Median Wasp
Dolichovespula media
- Group
- Social wasp
- Size
- 11–15 mm
- Risk
- Low danger
- Protection status
- Spare where possible
- Identifying features
-
- Noticeably larger than the common wasp
- Often very dark in colour, can look like a hornet
- Free-hanging grey, cone-shaped nest (approx. 20 × 25 cm)
- Nest in hedges, shrubs or small trees, with a small round opening underneath
- Very peaceable, does not come to food
The median wasp (Dolichovespula media) is often overlooked or misidentified, because it is noticeably larger and darker than the familiar common wasp and is therefore sometimes mistaken for a hornet. In reality it is one of the calmest and most harmless social wasps in Switzerland.
Identifying features
- Size: 11–15 mm, noticeably larger than the common wasp
- Colouring: strikingly dark, in places looking almost black
- Nest: free-hanging, grey, cone-shaped, around 20 × 25 cm in size, with a small round opening on the underside
- Location: typically in hedges, shrubs or small trees
Risk
Low: the median wasp is very peaceable and, unlike the common or German wasp, does not come to food and drink. Conflicts at the coffee table or the barbecue are therefore practically unheard of.
Protected status in Switzerland
As a native wild species, the median wasp should be spared. On the Red List it is classed as near threatened (NT).
What to do about a nest
Since the median wasp causes hardly any disturbance, a nest in a hedge can usually simply be left alone. Only if a nest sits in the immediate vicinity of living space is an expert assessment on site advisable.