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Home » Guide » Arthropods (Arthropoda) » Hexapods (Hexapoda) » Insects (Insecta) » Ants, Bees, Wasps and Sawflies (Hymenoptera) » Aculeata - Ants, Bees and Stinging Wasps » Vespoidea » Vespidae » Paper Wasps (Polistinae) » Umbrella Paper Wasps (Polistes) » Subgenus Aphanilopterus (Polistes Subgenus Aphanilopterus) » Guinea Paper Wasp (Polistes exclamans)

Species Polistes exclamans - Guinea Paper Wasp

Classification · Other Common Names · Explanation of Names · Size · Identification · Range · Internet References · Works Cited
Wasp 4 - Polistes exclamans Polistes exclamans MALE COLOR FORMS - Polistes exclamans - male Golden brown wasp - Polistes exclamans Paper Wasp - Polistes exclamans - female Wasp - Polistes exclamans Paper Wasp on Nest - Polistes exclamans - female Polistes exclamans? - Polistes exclamans PWBN - Polistes exclamans
Classification
Kingdom Animalia (Animals)
Phylum Arthropoda (Arthropods)
Subphylum Hexapoda (Hexapods)
Class Insecta (Insects)
Order Hymenoptera (Ants, Bees, Wasps and Sawflies)
No Taxon (Aculeata - Ants, Bees and Stinging Wasps)
Superfamily Vespoidea
Family Vespidae
Subfamily Polistinae (Paper Wasps)
Genus Polistes (Umbrella Paper Wasps)
No Taxon (Subgenus Aphanilopterus)
Species exclamans (Guinea Paper Wasp)
Other Common Names
Common Paper Wasp (may also be applied to allies such as P. fuscatus or P. dorsalis)
Guinea Wasp
"Yellowjacket" - especially in the southern US, this species is often erroneously referred to as a yellowjacket, though that name is reserved for members of the genera Vespula and Dolichovespula.
Explanation of Names
Polistes exclamans Viereck, 1906
Size
Forewing length: 13.0–16.5 mm (female), 12.0–15.0 (male)(1)
Identification
Dark antennae with orange tips, yellow mark on the occiput, extensive yellow mark on the metasoma (except for some specimens in Florida), fore coxae yellow-marked (or at least ferruginous), four yellow vertical lines on the propodeum, and yellow bands on each segment of the metasoma.

♀       ♂
Range
NJ to FL, west to NE, CO, and TX; also occurs in Mexico (Chihuahua to Jalisco, Hidalgo) and introduced to Hawaii(2). Recently introduced to AZ, CA, NM.(3)
Internet References
Species page(3) (link updated 6/3/24)
Forestry Images
Works Cited
1.Identification Atlas of the Vespidae (Hymenoptera, Aculeata) of the northeastern Nearctic region
2.James M. Carpenter. Distributional checklist of species of the genus Polistes (Hymenoptera, Vespidae, Polistinae, Polistini)
3.Identification Atlas of the Vespidae (Hymenoptera, Aculeata) of the Northeastern Nearctic Region
Matthias Buck, Stephen A. Marshall, and David K. B. Cheung. 2008. Biological Survey of Canada [Canadian Journal of Arthropod Identification].
Contributed by john and jane balaban on 20 February, 2005 - 11:24am
Additional contributions by cotinis, Beatriz Moisset, Matthias Buck, ceiseman, Vespula vulgaris, v belov, Abigail Parker, PaleoJon
Last updated 3 June, 2024 - 4:51pm

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