This is a primarily textual guide designed to follow identification based on typical color patterns. It is strictly non-technical in the sense that microscopic traits are avoided when not absolutely necessary. As such, it does not replace a true species key but instead should suffice to introduce the range of color patterns found both across species and within species.
Each species entry is divided into sections including:
• body color (general pattern)
• diagnosis (detailed traits that typically suggest that species)
• similar species (a list of species that share similar coloration as well as traits that can separate them, when visible)
https://www.inaturalist.org/posts/12014-paper-wasps-quick-guide-to-us-polistes-species |