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Home » Guide » Arthropods (Arthropoda) » Insects (Insecta) » Ants, Bees, Wasps and Sawflies (Hymenoptera) » Aculeata - Bees, Ants, and other Stinging Wasps » Vespoidea » Yellowjackets, Paper Wasps, and Hornets; Potter, Mason and Pollen Wasps (Vespidae) » Paper Wasps (Polistinae) » Polistes » Northern Paper Wasp (Polistes fuscatus)
Photo#123793
Wasp Insecticide - Polistes fuscatus
Copyright © 2007 Vincent J Hickey

Wasp Insecticide - Polistes fuscatus
Kennebunk, York County, Maine, USA
June 30, 2007
Size: ~15mm
I thought this was P.fuscatus..but it has a winged victim. Do Paper wasps kill, or is the assassin something different. Any help with the Vic?

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Wasp Insecticide - Polistes fuscatus Wasp Insecticide - Polistes fuscatus
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Contributed by Vincent J Hickey on 2 July, 2007 - 3:47pm
Last updated 2 July, 2007 - 5:12pm

Although Paper Wasps...
Prey mainly on caterpillars or other eruciform larvae, they do sometimes kill winged insect like this Dipteran fly, provided these are not quick enough to avoid capture.
Your pics are interesting in their own right by showing the EXTREME darkness of at least some Maine representatives of Polistes fuscatus.
… Richard Vernier, 2 July, 2007 - 5:01pm login or register to post comments

P. fuscatus
This is indeed P. fuscatus, I've never seen one this dark though!!

Paper wasps usually hunt for caterpillars/soft bodied insects for their young, but anything that suits their needs is a possibility for a food source.

Adults mostly feed on nectar, some of the juices from the malaxated (chewed) prey for their larvae, regurgitations from nestmates, and larval saliva (known as larva-adult trophallaxis, the larvae secrete drops of saliva which the wasps eat).
… George Waldren, 2 July, 2007 - 5:00pm login or register to post comments

 
Wasp Insecticide
Image on Right is a true color mstch; the Left image was lightened in PS in an attempt to ID the wasp. It is missing the signature of P.fuscatus....the red splotch on lateral abdomen. It is indeed darker than most Pf's...even others I saw the same day. Thanks to you and R.Vernier for the info. VJH
… Vincent J Hickey, 3 July, 2007 - 11:10am login or register to post comments

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