Curiousity Hopefully Wont Get Me Stung
Mon, Mar 9, 2009 at 12:18 PM
Hello and thanks for taking time to help me out. Just this morning I realized Ive got quite a build-up of new ‘friends’ on the roof of my house. I found out about them from my crazy husband and his friend who were out having a cigarette. They came running in quickly, afraid of the evil bugs lol. Between my husband and son im the big bad bug killer because they are both highly creeped out by the creepy crawlies. Never bothered me. But back to the main event….
I went to check these, what I believe to be wasps, out and ive been searching all morning on what kind they could be. They are quite large for any wasp ive ever seen. Their bodies appear to be hard and are a darker red tent. The wings appear to be either a crimson purple or a black tent. Antennae are straight and black.
Me being the curious person I am I stood out there for awhile to watch them for a bit. I might be wrong but I think they are doing some sort of strange mating thing. One or more will wait for another to come and ‘clean’ their head by, what appears to be, bitting on it. Then once they’ve done this for a moment , both parties back off and clean and rub on themselves almost as if applying a lubricant of some sort.
Again, im no expert and these are just theories of my observations. I snapped a few pics as best I could with the lack of good zoom on my camera.
I would love to know what this species is and definately if they are something that needs to be taken care of immediately due to my small child. Thanks for everything!
Curious Mind
Little Rock, Arkansas

Red Wasps

Dear Curious Mind,
These look to us like Red Wasps, Polistes carolina. Wasps in the genus Polistes are known as Paper Wasps and though they are not aggressive, they can sting if their nest is disturbed. Paper Wasps chew wood pulp into a material used to build the nest. We suspect they are attracted to the exposed wood beneath the peeling paint on your roof. It is possible that the nest is in the eaves of the house since BugGuide indicates: “This species may prefer to nest in very sheltered locations, such as hollow trees–this should be investigated.” A similar species with the same range is Polistes perplexus, also pictured on BugGuide. In our opinion, these Red Wasps pose no threat to your small child, but the wasps will protect their nest.

Update: Sat, Mar 14, 2009 at 6:08 PM
Thanks very much for responding and especially finding out what they are. Im very relieved to know that these arent agressive by nature. I think it will put us all at ease. Now Im not so eager to call someone to get rid of them. They have to have a home someplace also. And there’s enough room for everyone to keep peace. I hate to kill things if there’s no need. Thanks once again and keep up the awesome work!!

Paper Wasp Nest – Now What?
Fri, Nov 28, 2008 at 12:55 PM
Dear Bugman,
For almost two months now, I’ve been watching and photographing a paper wap nest in my back yard here in Hawthorne, California. It fell Thanksgiving Day from it’s location under a shelf in what we call “The Sanctuary”. Image 1 is of one of the wasps still on the nest at that time. I’m sure it’s in the genus Polistes, but it doesn’t look exactly like the photos of Polistes Dominulus I find posted on your site. Image 2 is what is left of the nest this morning, the day after Thansgiving. What is perplexing me is pictured in the third image I’ve attached. There are a bunch of these wasps congregating at the exact spot where the nest was originally. What are they doing?
Anna
Hawthorne, California

Paper Wasp Nest

Hi Anna,
We believe your Paper Wasps are Polistes aurifer, named the Golden Polistes by Charles Hogue who at the time his book, Insects of the Los Angeles Basin was reprinted in 1993, still considered this to be a subspecies of Polistes fuscatus. BugGuide does consider it to be a separate Western species. You didn’t indicate what caused the nest to fall. We suspect it was the recent deluge and winds in Southern California just before Thanksgiving.

Paper Wasp Nest fallen to ground

According to Hogue:  “The umbrella-shaped nests, which are made of a peper-like substance similar to that produced by the Yellow Jacket, are composed of a single layer of cells and attached by a short stem to the underside of overhanging surfaces (eaves or fence rails, for example).  Adult wasps gather caterpillars, which they skin and chew before feeding them to the grub-like larvae developing in the cells.”  The reason the wasps have congregated around the nest site is that for the past few months, they have been in the habit if returning to the nest. Much like people who have “lost everything” in a fire or other disaster, if the site is still attractive, your wasps may choose to rebuild in the same location.

Paper Wasps Nestless