Dolichovespula is a small genus of social wasps distributed widely throughout the Northern Hemisphere.

The yellow and black members of the genus are known by the common name yellowjackets in North America, such as Dolichovespula norwegica, along with members of their sister genus Vespula.

In a study on the nesting biology of Dolichovespula, a colony of D. maculata with 771 workers was reported as having the largest recorded population count.

The oculomalar space, the distance between the eye and the mandible, is long in Dolichovespula and short in Vespula.

Dolichovespula is different from its sister group Vespula in that some of the workers create haploid offspring that develop into males.