biostudies-literatureUnknown12(10)Badejo OInsects vary in the degree of their adaptability to environmental contamination. Determining the responses with phenotypic plasticity in ecologically important species in polluted environments will ease further conservation and control actions. Here, we investigated morphological characteristics such as body size, body mass, and color of the common wasp Vespula vulgaris in an industrially polluted environment, considering different levels of metal pollution, and we studied the localization of contaminants in the guts of wasps. We revealed some differences in morphological characteristics and melanization of wasps collected in habitats with high, moderate, and low levels of pollution. The results indicated that V. vulgaris from highly polluted environments had reduced melanin pigmentation oInsects888https://www.ebi.ac.uk/biostudies/studies/S-EPMC8540993biostudies-literaturePhenotypic Plasticity of Common Wasps in an Industrially Polluted Environment in Southwestern Finland.PMC8540993Sorvari JSkaldina OBadejo OCarrasco-Navarro VPeraniemi SfalsePhenotypic Plasticity of Common Wasps in an Industrially Polluted Environment in Southwestern Finland.Insects vary in the degree of their adaptability to environmental contamination. Determining the responses with phenotypic plasticity in ecologically important species in polluted environments will ease further conservation and control actions. Here, we investigated morphological characteristics such as body size, body mass, and color of the common wasp Vespula vulgaris in an industrially polluted environment, considering different levels of metal pollution, and we studied the localization of contaminants in the guts of wasps. We revealed some differences in morphological characteristics and melanization of wasps collected in habitats with high, moderate, and low levels of pollution. The results indicated that V. vulgaris from highly polluted environments had reduced melanin pigmentation o2021-01-01T00:00:00Z2021 Sep2025-04-21T14:45:51.451Z2025-04-21T14:45:51.451ZS-EPMC85409933468065610.3390/insects12100888