Photographer:

Ward Upham

Organization:

Kansas State University

Adult(s)

Description:

Polistes or paper nest wasps are very common in Kansas. They build their nests under the eaves of buildings, in mail boxes, woodpiles, and other similar protected locations. The nest hangs from a single support and the single-layer comb is not enclosed in a paper envelope as in the Vespinae. These wasps frequently are incorrectly referred to as yellowjackets. This term should be applied only to certain Vespinae.  Paper nest wasps overwinter as queens under the bark of trees or other protected sites. In the spring, the queen builds her nest consisting of only a few cells and begins raising her young. The colony increases in size very quickly. The wasps feed on caterpillars and are beneficial. Unless a nest is built in a site that presents a hazard to people, it should be left alone. Male Polistes wasps appear in the fall and are very common on goldenrod and other fall flowers. They cannot sting (the stinger is a modified egg-laying structure present only in female insects).

Field