Polistes carolina

A late-season nest of Carolina paper wasps tucked into the needles of a loblolly pine. Stengl Lost Pines Field Station, Texas, USA.

Polistes dominula

European Paper Wasp. South Bristol, New York, USA.

Polistes dominula

A nest of the European paper wasp, Polistes dominula. South Bristol, New York, USA.

Polistes dominula

A foundress European paper wasp sits on her nest. Saint Louis, Missouri, USA.

Polistes dominula

Developing larvae in the nest of a European paper wasp. Saint Louis, Missouri, USA.

Polistes apachus

Two Texas paper wasp foundresses engage in what appears to be a dominance struggle at an incipient spring nest. Big Bend Ranch State Park, Texas, USA.

Polistes apachus

A tense moment between two Texas paper wasp foundresses. Big Bend Ranch State Park, Texas, USA.

Polistes

A young paper wasp foundress sits on her nest under a banana leaf. Mindo, Pichincha, Ecuador.

Polistes

A young paper wasp foundress sits on her nest. This photograph was taken looking upwards, as the nest was sheltered below a banana leaf. Mindo, Pichincha, Ecuador.

Polistes exclamans

Young larvae in the nest of a paper wasp. Austin, Texas, USA.

Polistes exclamans

A paper wasp foundress stands guard over her nascent colony. Austin, Texas, USA.

Polistes exclamans

An early season paper wasp nest. Austin, Texas, USA.

Polistes exclamans

Paper wasps are master predators. This one has killed and processed the meat of a monarch butterfly caterpillar and is preparing to fly it back to her nest. Austin, Texas, USA.

Polistes exclamans

Pulling back a tangle of crossvine reveals a mid-summer nest of paper wasps. Austin, Texas, USA.

Polistes exclamans

Metamorphosis of the common paper wasp from eggs (top) to larvae, pupae, and emerging adults. Austin, Texas, USA.

Polistes fuscatus

Northern Paper Wasp. Fairport, New York, USA.

Polistes fuscatus

A female paper wasp harvests wood pulp from a fencepost. The pulp is processed into paper for use in nest construction. Saint Louis, Missouri, USA.

Polistes fuscatus

A female northern paper wasp on a mid-season nest. South Bristol, New York, USA.

Polistes metricus

A female paper wasp harvests wood pulp from a fencepost. The pulp is processed into paper for use in nest construction. Saint Louis, Missouri, USA.

Polistes metricus

Brackenridge Field Laboratory, Austin, Texas, USA.

Polistes metricus

Paper wasps. Brackenridge Field Laboratory, Austin, Texas, USA.

Polistes metricus with Xenos sp. parasites

Wasps with distorted abdomens are worth a close look, as often the odd bulges indicate parasitism by Strepsiptera, a strange lineage of insects that live partially inside the bodies of their hosts. Rumley, Texas, USA.