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Western paper wasps

Mischocyttarus flavitarsis

Photo by textless
Published on Project Noah
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36.9537, -107.45

Field Notes

Description:

There were dozens of these large, mellow wasps around mud puddles near Navajo Lake, NM, after heavy rain. They seemed to be living in holes in weathered sandstone along the sides of a ravine.

Species ID Suggestions

Western Paper Wasps

Mischocyttarus flavitarsis

Reference Link
BugEric
1

Comments (4)
Steve A
Love your macro work - great photo. There are so many interesting wasps on just about every continent.
textless
Thanks Sally and Kristal. I wasn't sure if the two wasps in the second photo were the same, since they looked similar except for the coloration on their backs... But yes, I'm mostly interested in the lighter colored, thread waisted wasps. :)
KristalWatrous
There are two different species of wasp in the second photo - the one on the left is a Polistes but I presume you're looking for an ID on the more thread-waisted wasps in all of the photos. Hopefully someone who knows wasps can help.

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2011 Best Wildlife Photo

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PublishedOctober 9, 2011

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