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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
Photo#141052
Paper Wasp - Polistes - female
Copyright © 2007 Donna K Race

Paper Wasp - Polistes - Female
Doddridge County, West Virginia, USA
August 28, 2007
Size: about 3/4"
Found this gal on my kitchen faucet yesterday AM and was able to usher it outside (very cautiously) after I took some pictures. This is a female that stings, correct? Is it possible to ID to species?

Yet another redundant image that will be frassed, since I already have several ID'd in the guide...P. fuscatus and P. metricus.
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Contributed by Donna K Race on 29 August, 2007 - 10:24am

This is a female...
And you were right to be cautious. Me too would not take the chance to be stung by such a hornet-sized Paper Wasp!
Although the support is rather unusual, it would be a pity to frass this excellent picture. P. fuscatus is so variable in the South-East, often confusingly similar to P. metricus, that there will never be too many pictures of both. As a proof, I can't tell conclusively to which species this one female belongs... Dr Buck's expertise is needed.
… Richard Vernier, 29 August, 2007 - 10:33am login or register to post comments

 
Thanks for the input Richard
I can only assume it was looking for water. Even taking the pictures was a bit daunting. With my equipment it is necessary to be within 8-10" of the subject...I've never actually measured the distance :)

I'll move the image to the Polistes page for the time being.
… Donna K Race, 29 August, 2007 - 10:47am login or register to post comments

 
Probably P. metricus.
My guess is that this will turn out to be P. metricus, but there are certainly many populations of P. fuscatus that are colored almost identically....
… Eric R. Eaton, 29 August, 2007 - 1:11pm login or register to post comments

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