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
TaxonomyBrowse
Info
ImagesLinksBooksData
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 Aphanilopterus (Polistes Subgenus Aphanilopterus) » Unstable Paper Wasp (Polistes instabilis)

Species Polistes instabilis - Unstable Paper Wasp

Classification · Other Common Names · Explanation of Names · Range · Works Cited
Polistes sp.? - Polistes instabilis - female Polistes instabilis? - Polistes instabilis Paper Wasps - Polistes instabilis Paper Wasps - Polistes instabilis Paper Wasp - Polistes instabilis - female Wasp - Polistes instabilis - female Polistes instabilis - female Unstable Paper Wasp - Polistes instabilis
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 (Hornets, Yellowjackets; Paper, Potter, Mason, and Pollen Wasps; and Allies)
Subfamily Polistinae (Paper Wasps)
Genus Polistes (Umbrella Paper Wasps)
No Taxon (Subgenus Aphanilopterus)
Species instabilis (Unstable Paper Wasp)
Other Common Names
Known in Spanish as the avispa guitarrilla ("guitar wasp")
Explanation of Names
Polistes instabilis de Saussure, 1853
instabilis = from the Latin īnstabilis ('unstable, shaky'), referring to the species' shaky movements. These movements also gave the species its Spanish name, la avispa guitarrilla ('guitar wasp')
Range
It is a primarily Mexican and Central American species that occurs only in south Texas within the U.S.(1)
Works Cited
1.James M. Carpenter. Distributional checklist of species of the genus Polistes (Hymenoptera, Vespidae, Polistinae, Polistini)
Contributed by Matthias Buck on 13 July, 2007 - 8:46am
Additional contributions by Beatriz Moisset, Vespula vulgaris, PaleoJon
Last updated 6 August, 2021 - 1:08am

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