''Eumenes crucifera'', also known as the cross potter wasp, is a North American species of

potter wasp Potter wasps (or mason wasps), the Eumeninae, are a cosmopolitan wasp group presently treated as a subfamily of Vespidae, but sometimes recognized in the past as a separate family, Eumenidae. Recognition Most eumenine species are black or brown, ...

found in Canada, the United States, and Mexico. ''E. crucifera'' has a "range of variation mainly in coloration". In part due to this

phenotypic In genetics, the phenotype () is the set of observable characteristics or traits of an organism. The term covers the organism's morphology or physical form and structure, its developmental processes, its biochemical and physiological proper ...

variation, there were previously four recognized subspecies, one of which (''

Eumenes flavitinctus Eumenes (; grc-gre, Εὐμένης; c. 362316 BC) was a Greek general and satrap. He participated in the Wars of Alexander the Great, serving as both Alexander's personal secretary and as a battlefield commander. He later was a participant in t ...

'') has been elevated to full species status, and three of which have been eliminated and upmerged back into ''E. crucifera'' as of 2018.

References

Vespidae Insects described in 1888 Potter wasps Hymenoptera of North America {{potter-wasp-stub