Polistes

Soon after I posted their photos on BugGuide (here and here), they got identified as Polistes dominula (or dominulus), the European paper wasp (the yellow-banded one) and Polistes fuscatus, the northern paper wasp (the darker one with red marks).

Archive 2007-08-01 AYDIN 2007

Soon after I posted their photos on BugGuide (here and here), they got identified as Polistes dominula (or dominulus), the European paper wasp (the yellow-banded one) and Polistes fuscatus, the northern paper wasp (the darker one with red marks).

Busy at the birdbath AYDIN 2007

Let us, on the other hand, recall the Polistes [a tree nesting wasp] placed in the company of the wasps in my vivarium.

The Life of the fly; with which are interspersed some chapters of autobiography Jean-Henri Fabre 1869

Bivoltinism as an antecedent to eusociality in the paper wasp genus Polistes.

SuperCooperators Martin A. Nowak 2011

Yes it is correct for Polistes dominulus, but most do not.

Beckwith on ID 2008

Here we report social costs in a previously undescribed badge of status: the highly variable black facial patterns of female paper wasps, Polistes dominulus.

Beckwith on ID 2008

Actually, most paperwasp (Polistes) species do not have those facial markings at all or they do not seem to convey any individual or social meaning.

Beckwith on ID 2008

I'm no expert on Polistes species, but perhaps P. dominulus tend to found new nests more often with multiple females (that then fight for dominance), compared to other species with single founding females.

Beckwith on ID 2008

In Polistes fuscatus, the black face marks seem to be more an individual recognition signal, not primarily related to social status.

Beckwith on ID 2008

Yes it is correct for Polistes dominulus, but most do not.

Beckwith on ID 2008