Identification, Images, & Information
For Insects, Spiders & Their Kin
For the United States & Canada
 

Register · Log In
HomeGuideID RequestRecentFrassForumsDonateHelp
Clickable Guide
Moths Butterflies Flies Caterpillars Flies Dragonflies Flies Mantids Cockroaches Bees and Wasps Walkingsticks Earwigs Ants Termites Hoppers and Kin Hoppers and Kin Beetles True Bugs Fleas Grasshoppers and Kin Ticks Spiders Scorpions Centipedes Millipedes

Calendar
Upcoming Events

Registration is open for the 2024 BugGuide gathering in Idaho July 24-27

Moth submissions from National Moth Week 2023

Photos of insects and people from the 2022 BugGuide gathering in New Mexico, July 20-24

Photos of insects and people from the Spring 2021 gathering in Louisiana, April 28-May 2

Photos of insects and people from the 2019 gathering in Louisiana, July 25-27

Photos of insects and people from the 2018 gathering in Virginia, July 27-29


Previous events
TaxonomyBrowseInfoImagesLinksBooksData
Home » Guide » Arthropods (Arthropoda) » Hexapods (Hexapoda) » Insects (Insecta) » Ants, Bees, Wasps and Sawflies (Hymenoptera) » Aculeata - Ants, Bees and Stinging Wasps » Vespoidea » Hornets, Yellowjackets; Paper, Potter, Mason, and Pollen Wasps; and Allies (Vespidae) » Paper Wasps (Polistinae) » Umbrella Paper Wasps (Polistes) » Subgenus Fuscopolistes (Polistes Subgenus Fuscopolistes) » Golden Paper Wasp (Polistes aurifer)
Photo#143137
Red and Yellow Wasp - Polistes aurifer
Copyright © 2007 David Brady

Red and Yellow Wasp - Polistes aurifer
Moab, Grand County, Utah, USA
September 2, 2007
Size: ~25-30mm
This wasp was never found far from streams; I found them at Pack Creek and Mill Creek. At Pack Creek they were rotating in shifts through a sunflower patch with three other species of wasps. It looked like they were hunting for the last spiders of Autumn before it turns cold.
tag · login or register to post comments
Contributed by David Brady on 4 September, 2007 - 11:44pm
Last updated 6 October, 2007 - 9:17am

Moved
Moved from Polistes.
… Matthias Buck, 6 October, 2007 - 9:17am login or register to post comments

Polistes aurifer, female (UT)
P. aurifer is correct. P. apachus has yellow stripes on the scutum and a large yellow spot on each side of the pronotum, P. flavus is even more yellow and P. dorsalis has a different pattern on tergum 2 (red area is more or less rectangular). None of these three have been recorded from Utah to my knowledge.
… Matthias Buck, 6 October, 2007 - 9:16am login or register to post comments

paper wasp
in the genus polistes, dont know the exact species, though.
… vulgaris, 5 September, 2007 - 6:00am login or register to post comments

 
I think it might be
P. apachus or possibly P. flavus, though I could be totally wrong. I'm sure one of our experts here will know for sure, though.
… J.R. Jones, 5 September, 2007 - 2:08pm login or register to post comments

 
Not P. flavus.
The western Polistes species are really tough. I would offer P. aurifer as a possibility for this specimen, but I think it would take running it through a key to be definitive. You really can't go by color pattern alone.
… Eric R. Eaton, 5 September, 2007 - 3:59pm login or register to post comments

Comment viewing options
Select your preferred way to display the comments and click 'Save settings' to activate your changes.

Disclaimer: Dedicated naturalists volunteer their time and resources here to provide this service. We strive to provide accurate information, but we are mostly just amateurs attempting to make sense of a diverse natural world. If you need expert professional advice, contact your local extension office.

Contributors own the copyright to and are solely responsible for contributed content.
Click the contributor's name for licensing and usage information.
Everything else copyright © 2003-2024 Iowa State University, unless otherwise noted.

Bugguide is hosted by:

Plant Pathology, Entomology and Microbiology at Iowa State University logo

Printer Friendly Version 		Terms of Use
Privacy Statement
Site Map
Contact