Northern paper wasp

Conservation Status

IUCN Red List

not listed

NatureServe

NNR - Unranked
SNR - Unranked

Minnesota

not listed

Description

Northern paper wasp, also called dark paper wasp or golden paper wasp, is a medium-sized, predatory, social wasp.

Adults are ⅝″ to 13 ⁄16″long. The body is slender. The head and thorax are covered with extremely short, inconspicuous hairs. The color pattern is geographically variable. Three subspecies are recognized.

There are two large compound eyes, one on each side of the head; and three small simple eyes (ocelli) at the top of the head between the compound eyes. The area below the compound eye (gena) is wide from the back of the head to the jaw (mandible), not tapered. There is a band on the gena that reddish-brown, yellow, or partly both. The plate that makes up the face is pointed at the end. It is yellow or reddish-brown and has no black marks.

The antennae are long and thread-like, not clubbed. They are brownish-black above, yellow below. On males they are conspicuously curled at the tip and the last four segments are entirely brownish-black.

The dorsal surface of the thorax (pronotum) is black with no stripes down the middle. A yellow or reddish-brown band at the leading edge of the pronotum is continuous, not interrupted at the apex (nearest to the head).

The abdomen of the female has six segments, while that of the male has seven segments. The base of the abdomen is constricted, forming a waist, but not stalked. The upper plate (tergum) of each abdominal segment is brownish-black with yellow or reddish-brown markings or both. The first tergum is wider than long, not stalk-like, and the leading edge is gently rounded in profile. On males, the hind (posterior) margin of each tergum has a narrow band of yellow or reddish-brown. These may be absent on females in the northern part of the range of this species.

The legs are long and yellow. On the middle leg the fourth segment (tibia) has two spurs at the end. The claws at the end of the foot (tarsus) are simple, not forked.

The wings are smoky and clear. When at rest they are folded over the body. The forewing has three submarginal cells. The first discoidal cell is very long, about half as long as the entire wing. The first subdiscoidal cell does not touch the medial cell.

Size

Total length: ⅝″ to 13 ⁄16″

Similar Species

Habitat

Woodlands, savannas

Ecology

Season

May to November

Behavior

In the spring queens recently emerged from hibernation congregate together. At this stage they aggressively defend their territory. In the spring and summer, when larvae are present in the nest, workers will aggressively defend the nest. In the fall, when no larvae are present, they will usually flee from predators.

Life Cycle

In the spring a queen emerges from hibernation. In early May she builds an above-ground, uncovered nest hanging from a slender stalk (pedicel). The papery nest is constructed from wood fibers chewed and cemented with saliva. Often two or more queens will build a nest together but one queen always dominates the nest. All of the queens lay eggs but the dominant queen eats the eggs of the other queens. After the nest is built the non-dominant queens may be driven off or become workers. The dominant queen deposits a single egg into each cell. These first young become workers and take over the care of new young and the expansion of the nest. In late summer, when food is abundant, the queen begins producing males and new queens. Nests do not survive the winter. Old queens, males, and workers are killed by cold weather in the fall. New queens mate in the fall and then quickly hibernate.

Larva Food/Hosts

Liquids and solids derived from kneading captured caterpillars and other insects.

Adult Food

Plant nectar

Distribution

Sources

7, 24, 27, 30, 82, 83.

Biodiversity occurrence data published by: Minnesota Biodiversity Atlas (accessed through the Minnesota Biodiversity Atlas Portal, bellatlas.umn.edu. Accessed 10/4/2024).

Polistes fuscatus (Fabricius, 1793) in GBIF Secretariat (2023). GBIF Backbone Taxonomy. Checklist dataset https://doi.org/10.15468/39omei accessed via GBIF.org. Accessed 10/4/2024.