Vespinae

{{Short description|Subfamily of wasps}}

{{expand Japanese|topic=scitech|otherarticle=|date=June 2018}}

{{automatic taxobox

| fossil_range = {{fossil range|Thanetian|Recent}}

| image = Hornet-vespa.jpg

| image_caption = European hornet, Vespa crabro

| taxon = Vespinae

| authority = Latreille, 1802

| subdivision_ranks = Genera

| subdivision = *Dolichovespula

• †Palaeovespa
• Provespa
• Vespa
• Vespula

}}

The subfamily Vespinae contains the largest and best-known groups of eusocial wasps, including true hornets (the genus Vespa), and the "yellowjackets" (genera Dolichovespula and Vespula).{{Cite journal |last=Jm |first=Carpenter |date=1997 |title=Checklist of the species in the subfamily Vespinae (Insecta : Hymenoptera : Vespidae) |url=https://cir.nii.ac.jp/crid/1570572700237448192 |journal=Nat Hist Bull Ibaraki Univ |volume=1 |pages=51–92}} The remaining genus, Provespa, is a small, poorly known group of nocturnal wasps from Southeast Asia. One genus, Palaeovespa, has been described the Paleocene to Eocene fossil records of North America and Europe.{{Cite book|last1=Yamane |first1=Seiki |title=Vespinae |date=2021 |url=http://link.springer.com/10.1007/978-3-030-28102-1_133 |work=Encyclopedia of Social Insects |pages=1000–1008 |editor-last=Starr |editor-first=Christopher K. |access-date=2023-06-12 |place=Cham |publisher=Springer International Publishing |language=en |doi=10.1007/978-3-030-28102-1_133 |isbn=978-3-030-28101-4 |last2=Yamane |first2=Sôichi}} Collectively, the group can be found on all continents except Antarctica, and several of these wasps are invasive species, introduced beyond their native ranges, and can be major pests.

File:Palaeovespa florissantia.jpg