Bald-faced hornet coloring differentiates it from its mostly black and yellow genus mates. Baldfaced hornets are distinguished from other yellowjackets by their white and black coloring. It has a white or "baldfaced" head, which is the source of its colloquial name. These wasps also have three white stripes at the end of their bodies. They are notably larger than other species of "Dolichovespula", as adults average about in length. Queen and worker wasps have similar morphologies. However, workers are covered by small hairs while the queen remains hairless. Queens are always larger than workers in their colonies, though size distributions can vary
Bald-faced hornet the southeastern United States. Males in this species are haploid and females are diploid. Worker females can therefore lay eggs which develop into males. Matricide might occur after sufficient workers have been raised and queen-destined eggs have been laid, in order to give workers a reproductive advantage. The bald-faced hornet gets its name from the characteristic white markings on its face, as the word "bald" in English is derived from the word piebald. It was first described by Linnaeus in 1763. "D. maculata" is part of the cosmopolitan family Vespidae. It is in the genus "Dolichovespula". Its black and white