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Northern Paper Wasp

Polistes fuscatus

Photo by Kyle A
Published on Project Noah
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41.9042, -71.4425

Field Notes

Description:

About 1 inch long.

Habitat:

Spotted on a goldenrod flower bordering a field and deciduous woods.

Notes:

This looks to me like a wasp mimic, but I have had no luck finding it online.

Species ID Suggestions

Comments (7)
Gordon Dietzman
I'm not a wasp expert, but I believe males tend not to have elbowed antennae and have antennae that are strongly curved at the tip. This one's antennae are curved quite strongly so it could be a male.
RiekoS
Ok, I will add Northern Paper Wasp as ID for my spotting too. Thank you very much.
Kyle A
Everything tells me this a Northern Paper Wasp. Thanks for all the help.
RiekoS
I think I have the same unknown spotting. When you find the exact ID, can you let me know? Thank you! ://www.projectnoah.org/spottings/38662206
Kyle A
After taking a closer look, it looks like a Paper Wasp missing ones of its antennae. The first pic makes it look like a proboscis. It also flew like a wasp with dangling hind legs and didn't fly away as quick as most bee mimics seem too. Thanks for the info. This is most likely a Paper Wasp.
Kyle A
I fully agree. That was my first thought. However, are there 2 pairs of wings? Or do wasps have a single pair? I don't see jointed antennae either. I'm confused about this one actually. Is the paired wings specific to bees and not wasps?
Gordon Dietzman
Lots of mimics do a very good job of deceiving us (and other potential predators), but I think this actually a wasp. We have lots of northern paper wasps (Polistes fuscatus) visiting goldenrod right now in Minnesota. I think you have just that here. See http://bugguide.net/node/view/14227 for more information. P. fuscatus exhibits unusually wide variation in coloration. Especially notice the reddish spots on the sides of the abdomen. I'll be interested in hearing what ID you may arrive at.

Spotted for Missions

Mission
Pollinating Insects of the World
Mission
Wildlife of Northeastern USA
Mission
National Geographic's Great Nature Project

Tags

Photographed
PublishedSeptember 21, 2013

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