Vespula germanica
(Fabricius, 1793) · speciesAt a glance
Sources8 archives
Databases and archives Vespula germanica's data was compiled from.
WikipediaWikimedia Foundation15 languages↗
BioWikiNetmultilingual Wikipediamultilingual↗
GBIFGlobal Biodiversity Information Facility57 460 records↗
ENAEuropean Nucleotide Archive · EMBL-EBI790 eDNA detections↗
BOLD SystemsCentre for Biodiversity Genomics501 specimens↗
LOTUSNatural Products (Wikidata)compounds↗
GoaTGenomes on a Tree · Sangergenome & karyotype↗
GLoBIGlobal Biotic Interactionsbiotic interactions↗Every layer below draws on the sources above — open one to explore it, or use ← → to move between tabs.
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.
No narrative description available for this taxon yet.
No structured trait data for this taxon yet.
Compounds documented for Vespula germanica across natural-product and food-composition databases — not just the ~150 nutrients on a classic label ("nutritional dark matter").
Compound class profile1 class
Documented compounds1 total
| Compound | Class | Amount | Source |
|---|---|---|---|
| Histamine | present | LOTUS |
A DNA barcode is a short, standardised stretch of genes that works like a fingerprint — enough to tell one species from another. Below is the molecular trace Vespula germanica has left across the world's sequence archives.
At a glance
★ the standard DNA barcode for this group — the short region actually read to tell this species apart. The rest are extra genes sequenced along the way.
The complete instruction manual Vespula germanica carries — its genome. We read it from three angles — how big it is, how the DNA is packed into chromosomes, and how completely it has been sequenced — and explain how to read each value as you go.
Genome sizehow big the whole instruction manual is
Measured in base pairs (bp) — the individual letters of DNA (human ≈ 3.2 Gb, a bacterium a few million). The chart places this genome on a logarithmic scale — each step to the right is ten times bigger — among reference organisms. Across species a bigger genome loosely tracks with larger cells, slower growth and lower-energy lifestyles (powered flight favours small genomes) — yet it does not imply more genes or a more advanced organism (the long-standing C-value paradox).
Sequencing statusassembly quality — how far to trust these numbers
Assembly level tells you how finished the sequence is — from fragmented contigs, through scaffolds, up to a full chromosome-level assembly. BUSCO % estimates completeness: the share of genes expected to be present that were actually found. These describe the data quality, not the organism.
Record type57 460 records
Origin
Range
Wildobservation + sensor
Human sightings and records, or camera-trap / sensor detections — someone (or a device) saw or captured the species in the wild.
Museum / Voucheredphysical evidence
Backed by a physical specimen — a herbarium sheet, sample or voucher held in a collection. “Vouchered” means supported by material evidence, not just an observation.
Cultivated / Captivenot free-living
A living individual in a botanical garden, zoo or nursery — cultivated or kept, not free-living.
Wildobservation + sensor
Human sightings and records, or camera-trap / sensor detections — someone (or a device) saw or captured the species in the wild.
Holding institutions46 of 101 geolocated
Institutions and collections holding physical, vouchered specimens of this species — click a row to fly to it on the map.
| Institution | Specimens |
|---|---|
| Provincia di Livornolocation not on record | 877 |
| Zürich, CH | 711 |
| Muzeum Górnośląskie w Bytomiulocation not on record | 667 |
| MWLRlocation not on record | 417 |
| DPIlocation not on record | 320 |
| NMOKlocation not on record | 219 |
| New Zealand Arthropod Collectionlocation not on record | 219 |
| Nunoa, Santiago, CL | 214 |
| Museum Ludovicae Ulricae, Zoology Institute of the University of Uppsalalocation not on record | 209 |
| SLU Artdatabankenlocation not on record | 182 |
| Naturéum — Muséum cantonal des sciences naturelles, Lausanne, Département Zoologielocation not on record | 173 |
| Paro, BT | 159 |
| Geneva, CH | 157 |
| Philadelphia, US | 134 |
| Museo civico di Storia naturale Giacomo Doria di Genova | Giacomo Doria Natural History Museum in Genoalocation not on record | 117 |
| Natural History Museum Rotterdamlocation not on record | 98 |
| Musee d'Histoire Naturallelocation not on record | 97 |
| ZMAAlocation not on record | 84 |
| OSUClocation not on record | 83 |
| MZLUlocation not on record | 83 |
| Auckland, NZ | 82 |
| Frauenfeld, CH | 80 |
| Bern, CH | 66 |
| Tasmanian Museum & Art Gallerylocation not on record | 58 |
| University of Guelph, Centre for Biodiversity Genomicslocation not on record | 58 |
| WIlocation not on record | 54 |
| Gothenburg, SE | 50 |
| Tallinn, EE | 49 |
| Tartu, EE | 46 |
| US | 42 |
| Vernal, US | 37 |
| Adam Mickiewicz University in Poznańlocation not on record | 37 |
| NHMOlocation not on record | 36 |
| CBDClocation not on record | 36 |
| University Park, US | 33 |
| Dhaka, BD | 32 |
| Museu Nacional de História Natural e da Ciêncialocation not on record | 31 |
| QVMAGlocation not on record | 30 |
| Tilburg, NL | 28 |
| Sydney, AU | 27 |
| Universität Zürich, Naturhistorisches Museumlocation not on record | 26 |
| Museums Victorialocation not on record | 25 |
| Helsinki, FI | 22 |
| Winterthur, CH | 21 |
| Cleveland Museum of Natural History, OH (CLEV)location not on record | 21 |
| Brussels, BE | 20 |
| Naturmuseum Solothurnlocation not on record | 18 |
| Fribourg, CH | 18 |
| Sion, CH | 18 |
| BioFokuslocation not on record | 17 |
| South Kensington, GB | 16 |
| Champaign, US | 15 |
| ZSMlocation not on record | 13 |
| Trondheim, NO | 12 |
| Stockholm, SE | 12 |
| NTNU-VMlocation not on record | 10 |
| College Station, US | 10 |
| Ghent, BE | 9 |
| Uniwersytet Łódzkilocation not on record | 8 |
| Royal Saskatchewan Museumlocation not on record | 8 |
| neflocation not on record | 8 |
| 8 | |
| Fergana State Universitylocation not on record | 8 |
| Chicago, US | 8 |
| WSUClocation not on record | 8 |
| Tromsø, NO | 7 |
| Naturkundliche Sammlung Urilocation not on record | 6 |
| Cambridge, US | 6 |
| San Carlos de Bariloche, AR | 6 |
| Wuzhou, CN | 6 |
| Banyoles, ES | 5 |
| UGRlocation not on record | 5 |
| US | 5 |
| IMEDEAlocation not on record | 5 |
| Oulu, FI | 4 |
| Cape Town, ZA | 4 |
| NCMGlocation not on record | 4 |
| University of Guelphlocation not on record | 4 |
| University of Genevalocation not on record | 3 |
| Cornell University Insect Collectionlocation not on record | 3 |
| Barcelona, ES | 3 |
| Metsähallituslocation not on record | 2 |
| Ugentlocation not on record | 2 |
| Radicondoli, IT | 2 |
| Museum zu Allerheiligen Schaffhausenlocation not on record | 2 |
| Rifconlocation not on record | 2 |
| Ciudad de México, MX | 2 |
| Université de Montréal Biodiversity Centrelocation not on record | 2 |
| Natural History Museum of Utahlocation not on record | 2 |
| University of Delawarelocation not on record | 1 |
| Espace pour la vielocation not on record | 1 |
| Toronto, CA | 1 |
| Saint John, CA | 1 |
| UDlocation not on record | 1 |
| Biodiversity Institute of Ontariolocation not on record | 1 |
| European Distributed Institute of Taxonomy (EDIT)location not on record | 1 |
| US | 1 |
| UAclocation not on record | 1 |
| San Francisco, US | 1 |
| Sam Noble Oklahoma Museum of Natural Historylocation not on record | 1 |
| Albuquerque, US | 1 |
Cultivated / Captivenot free-living
A living individual in a botanical garden, zoo or nursery — cultivated or kept, not free-living.
Where the DNA of Vespula germanica was picked up in samples of water, soil or air — nobody saw the organism, only its DNA left behind. A trace is a clue that the species was near, not a confirmed sighting.
Signal
Where its DNA was found
How strong is each trace?
Modelled climatemodelled
How to read this: each dot is one detection of this species' DNA in an environmental sample. The confidence meter weighs how many independent studies and places back up the signal — one detection in one study is a hint; many across several studies is solid. Records dated before 2008 (when eDNA methods began) are treated as likely mislabeled and left off the map.