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Species Polistes aurifer - Golden Paper Wasp

Paper Wasp - Polistes aurifer - female Paper Wasp - Polistes aurifer - female Yellow Jacket2 - Polistes aurifer Chewing Acorn Gall - Polistes aurifer Golden Paper Wasp - Polistes aurifer Wasp species? - Polistes aurifer Polistes aurifer? - Polistes aurifer - female Golden Paper Wasp - Polistes aurifer
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 Fuscopolistes)
Species aurifer (Golden Paper Wasp)
Synonyms and other taxonomic changes
Sometimes considered a subspecies of P. fuscatus: Polistes fuscatus aurifer
Explanation of Names
Polistes aurifer Saussure 1853
aurifer = 'gold-bearer' (refers to the color scheme)
Range
A western species (BC-CA to AB-MT-w.TX; ne. Mexico) with one adventitious record from Prince Edward Island, Canada; introduced in Hawaii and Society Is.(1)
Internet References
Works Cited
1.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].