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Genus Polistes
Classification Kingdom Animalia (Animals)
Phylum Arthropoda (Arthropods)
Class Insecta (Insects)
Order Hymenoptera (Ants, Bees, Wasps and Sawflies)
No Taxon (Aculeata - Bees, Ants, and other Stinging Wasps)
Superfamily Vespoidea (Ants, Stinging Wasps, and Hornets)
Family Vespidae (Yellowjackets, Paper Wasps, and Hornets; Potter, Mason and Pollen Wasps)
Subfamily Polistinae (Paper Wasps)
Genus Polistes
Other Common Names Paper Wasp, Paper Nest Wasp (any member of genus), Northern Paper Wasp, Golden Paper Wasp (both for P. fuscatus), Red Wasp (P. annularis or carolina), Common Paper Nest Wasp (P. exclamans), Texas Paper Wasp (P. apachus) Numbers Arnett, p. 591, lists 18 spp. (1)
Nearctica.com lists 19 spp. Identification For an online key to the 11 species occurring in the northeast see the Identification Atlas of the Vespidae of the northeastern Nearctic region. (2)
Large social wasps with long legs, usually brown, yellow markings typically less extensive than yellow jackets and hornets (Vespinae). Visit flowers. Build distinctive paper nests attached to a surface by a stalk. No outer covering of cells as in the Vespinae.
Males have curly antennae and yellow faces, exception being P. annularis males, which have red faces just like females.
OVERVIEW OF SPECIES
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 ♀ Range Much of North America. Habitat Fields, woodlands, etc. Often build nests under eaves. Season Early spring to late fall (in warm areas like Florida year-round). Only workers early in season--males are going to appear late summer to fall (earlier in the south). Females overwinter, in P. annularis also males. Food Take nectar and juice from ripe fruit. Predatory on other insects (predominantly caterpillars) to feed larvae. Life Cycle Semi-social wasps. Unlike social (eusocial) wasps, where workers are sterile females, in Polistes all females are potential breeders. (See comments below for details.) Fertilized queens overwinter in crevices or under bark. In spring they build a nest and the colony builds up over the summer. At first, only workers (sterile females) are produced. Mature colonies have up to 30 adults. A young queen is the sole survivor of the colony. (I am presuming this queen disperses to find an unrelated male on flowers in the fall.)
In at least one species (P. carolina and/or P. annularis), both sexes overwinter in the nest, in hollow trees or logs. This needs to be investigated. Remarks Not as agressive as Hornets, Yellowjackets. May be considered beneficial to gardeners because of predation on herbivorous insects.
Guide TBA--PC (life cycle, overwintering colonies).
Males have antennae with curved tips. Print References Salsbury, p. 279 has photos of P. exclamans, carolinus (a), and metricus. (3)
Milne, pp. 834-835, fig. 442 (4)
Brimley, p. 441, lists, for North Carolina: P. canadensis annularis (statewide, males hibernate), crinitus (local), fuscatus (statewide, sbsp. bellicous, fuscatus, metricus, rubiginosus, variatus), and P. minor. That taxonomy is old. (5)
Arnett and Jacques, #285, P. exclamans (6)
Swan and Papp, pp. 544-555, figs. 1186-1187 (7)
Drees, p. 284, figs. 348-350, P. carolina and P. metricus (8)
Powell and Hogue, p. 340, fig. 440, P. fuscatus (9)
Borror and White, p. 348 (10)Internet References Cirrus Digital Imaging: P. fuscatus, P. dominulus
Insectimages.org--several species shown
Univ. Nebraska--photos of different life stages
North Carolina State Univ.--notes on control, if needed.
North Carolina State Univ. Entomology--lists for that state, with number pinned: annularis (54), carolina (47), dorsalis (107), exclamans (44), fuscatus aurifer (8), f. bellicosus (56), f. fuscatus (29), metricus (50)
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