Paper wasps are

vespid The Vespidae are a large (nearly 5000 species), diverse, cosmopolitan family of wasps, including nearly all the known eusocial wasps (such as ''Polistes fuscatus'', ''Vespa orientalis'', and ''Vespula germanica'') and many solitary wasps. Each ...

wasp A wasp is any insect of the narrow-waisted suborder Apocrita of the order Hymenoptera which is neither a bee nor an ant; this excludes the broad-waisted sawflies (Symphyta), which look somewhat like wasps, but are in a separate suborder ...

s that gather

fiber Fiber or fibre (from la, fibra, links=no) is a natural or artificial substance that is significantly longer than it is wide. Fibers are often used in the manufacture of other materials. The strongest engineering materials often incorporate ...

s from dead

wood Wood is a porous and fibrous structural tissue found in the stems and roots of trees and other woody plants. It is an organic materiala natural composite of cellulose fibers that are strong in tension and embedded in a matrix of lignin ...

and

plant stem A stem is one of two main structural axes of a vascular plant, the other being the root. It supports leaves, flowers and fruits, transports water and dissolved substances between the roots and the shoots in the xylem and phloem, stores nut ...

s, which they mix with

saliva Saliva (commonly referred to as spit) is an extracellular fluid produced and secreted by salivary glands in the mouth. In humans, saliva is around 99% water, plus electrolytes, mucus, white blood cells, epithelial cells (from which DNA can ...

, and use to construct nests made of gray or brown papery material. Some types of paper wasps are also sometimes called umbrella wasps, due to the distinctive design of their nests."Paper Wasp"
Microsoft Encarta Online Encyclopedia 2006.

Species

The name "paper wasps" typically refers to members of the

subfamily

Polistinae The Polistinae is a subfamily of eusocial wasps belonging to the family Vespidae. They are closely related to the more familiar wasps (“ yellowjackets” as they are called in North America) and true hornets of the subfamily Vespinae, contai ...

, though it often colloquially includes members of the subfamilies Vespinae (

hornet Hornets (insects in the genus ''Vespa'') are the largest of the eusocial wasps, and are similar in appearance to their close relatives yellowjackets. Some species can reach up to in length. They are distinguished from other vespine wasps by t ...

s and

yellowjacket Yellowjacket or yellowjacket is the common name in North America for predatory social wasps of the genus, genera ''Vespula'' and ''Dolichovespula''. Members of these genera are known simply as "wasps" in other English-speaking countries. Most of ...

s) and

Stenogastrinae The Stenogastrinae are a subfamily of social wasps included in the family Vespidae. They are sometimes called hover wasps owing to the particular hovering flight of some species. Their morphology and biology present interesting peculiarities. S ...

, which also make nests out of paper. Twenty-two species of ''

Polistes Wasps of the cosmopolitan genus ''Polistes'' (the only genus in the tribe Polistini) are the most familiar of the polistine wasps, and are the most common type of paper wasp in North America. Walter Ebeling coined the vernacular name "umbrella ...

'' paper wasps have been identified in

North America North America is a continent in the Northern Hemisphere and almost entirely within the Western Hemisphere. It is bordered to the north by the Arctic Ocean, to the east by the Atlantic Ocean, to the southeast by South America and th ...

and approximately 300 species have been identified worldwide. The most common paper wasp in Europe is ''

Polistes dominula The European paper wasp (''Polistes dominula'') is one of the most common and well-known species of social wasps in the genus '' Polistes''. Its diet is more diverse than those of most ''Polistes'' species—many genera of insects versus mainly ...

''. The

Old World The "Old World" is a term for Afro-Eurasia that originated in Europe , after Europeans became aware of the existence of the Americas. It is used to contrast the continents of Africa, Europe, and Asia, which were previously thought of by thei ...

tribe

Ropalidiini Ropalidiini is a tribe of social wasps inhabiting the Afrotropical, Indomalayan and Australasian biogeographical regions. Genera and selected species *'' Belonogaster'' **''Belonogaster juncea ''Belonogaster juncea'' is a typical quasisoc ...

contains another 300 species, and the

Neotropical The Neotropical realm is one of the eight biogeographic realms constituting Earth's land surface. Physically, it includes the tropical terrestrial ecoregions of the Americas and the entire South American temperate zone. Definition In bioge ...

tribes Epiponini and

Mischocyttarini ''Mischocyttarus'' is a very large, primarily Neotropical genus of social wasps with a few species found also in the Nearctic region. It is the only member of the tribe Mischocyttarini; the asymmetrical tarsal lobes of ''Mischocyttarus'' separat ...

each contain over 250 more, so the total number of true paper wasps worldwide is about 1100 species, almost half of which can be found in the neotropics.

Nests

The nests of most true paper wasps are characterized by having open combs with cells for brood rearing, and a ' petiole', or constricted stalk, that attaches the nest to a branch or other structure.Lyon, W.F. and G.S. Wegner (1991)
Paper Wasps and Hornets
Ohio State University Extension Fact Sheet: Entomology Paper wasps secrete a chemical which repels

ant Ants are eusocial insects of the family Formicidae and, along with the related wasps and bees, belong to the order Hymenoptera. Ants evolved from vespoid wasp ancestors in the Cretaceous period. More than 13,800 of an estimated total of ...

s, which they spread around the base of the anchor to prevent the loss of eggs or

brood Brood may refer to: Nature * Brood, a collective term for offspring * Brooding, the incubation of bird eggs by their parents * Bee brood, the young of a beehive * Individual broods of North American Periodical Cicadas: ** Brood X, the largest b ...

. Most social

s of the family Vespidae make nests from paper, but some stenogastrine species, such as ''

Liostenogaster flavolineata ''Liostenogaster flavolineata'' (tropical hover wasp) is an insect that belongs to the wasp family Vespidae. This hairy-faced hover wasp species is predominantly found in South Asian rain forests, especially in Malaysia. Individual colonies of ...

'', use mud. A small group of

eusocial Eusociality (from Greek εὖ ''eu'' "good" and social), the highest level of organization of sociality, is defined by the following characteristics: cooperative brood care (including care of offspring from other individuals), overlapping gen ...

crabronid wasps, of the genus '' Microstigmus'' (the only eusocial wasps outside the family Vespidae), also constructs nests out of chewed plant fibers, though the nest consistency is quite different from those of true paper wasps, due to the absence of wood fibers, and the use of silk extruded by female wasps to bind the fibers. Nests can be found in sheltered areas, such as the eaves of a house, the branches of a tree, on the end of an open pipe, or on an old clothesline. Some species, such as '' Ropalidia romandi'', will vary their nest architecture depending on where they build their nest. Three species of ''

'' are obligate social parasites, and have lost the ability to build their own nests, and are sometimes referred to as " cuckoo paper wasps". They rely on the nests of their hosts to raise their brood.Dapporto L, Cervo R, Sledge MF, Turillazzi S (2004) "Rank integration in dominance hierarchies of host colonies by the paper wasp social parasite ''Polistes sulcifer'' (Hymenoptera, Vespidae)". ''J Insect Physiol'' 50 :217–223 A few

s and

s are also brood parasites (e.g., ''

Vespula austriaca ''Vespula austriaca'' is an obligate parasitic wasp, parasitizing the nests of other species in the genus ''Vespula'' in the Old World. Its common host species include '' V. rufa'' in Europe, Japan, and East Siberia.''V. austriaca ''wasps pol ...

'').

Behavior

Unlike

s and

s, which can be very aggressive, polistine paper wasps will generally only attack if they themselves or their nest are threatened. Their territoriality can lead to attacks on people, and their stings are quite painful and – like all venomous animals – can produce a potentially fatal

anaphylactic Anaphylaxis is a serious, potentially fatal allergic reaction and medical emergency that is rapid in onset and requires immediate medical attention regardless of use of emergency medication on site. It typically causes more than one of the follo ...

reaction in some individuals.Drees, B.M. and John Jackman (1999). ''Field Guide to Texas Insects.'' Gulf Publishing Company, Houston, Texas. Excerpt available at
Texas Cooperative extension
A study conducted on European paper wasps (''Polistes dominula'') concluded that wasps with brighter aposematic colors are more venomous, because they have larger venom glands, and offer a stronger warning signal to organisms threatening the nest. Polistes africanus

Most wasps are beneficial in their natural habitat, and are critically important in natural biocontrol. Paper wasps feed on

nectar Nectar is a sugar-rich liquid produced by plants in glands called nectaries or nectarines, either within the flowers with which it attracts pollinating animals, or by extrafloral nectaries, which provide a nutrient source to animal mutualist ...

and other insects, including

caterpillar Caterpillars ( ) are the larval stage of members of the order Lepidoptera (the insect order comprising butterflies and moths). As with most common names, the application of the word is arbitrary, since the larvae of sawflies (suborder Sy ...

flies Flies are insects of the order Diptera, the name being derived from the Greek δι- ''di-'' "two", and πτερόν ''pteron'' "wing". Insects of this order use only a single pair of wings to fly, the hindwings having evolved into advanced m ...

, and

beetle Beetles are insects that form the order Coleoptera (), in the superorder Endopterygota. Their front pair of wings are hardened into wing-cases, elytra, distinguishing them from most other insects. The Coleoptera, with about 400,000 describ ...

larva A larva (; plural larvae ) is a distinct juvenile form many animals undergo before metamorphosis into adults. Animals with indirect development such as insects, amphibians, or cnidarians typically have a larval phase of their life cycle. ...

e. Because they are a known

pollinator A pollinator is an animal that moves pollen from the male anther of a flower to the female stigma of a flower. This helps to bring about fertilization of the ovules in the flower by the male gametes from the pollen grains. Insects are the m ...

and feed on known garden pests, paper wasps are often considered to be beneficial by gardeners.

References

{{Reflist

External links

National Geographic News: Wasps Can Recognize Faces.
Retrieved 2012-12-04. Biological pest control wasps Vespidae Articles containing video clips Insect common names

Species

Nests

Behavior

See also

References

External links