Insects › Hornets, Paper Wasps, Potter Wasps, and Allies

Parametric Paper Wasp

Polistes parametricus

Easily confused with

Study checks a spoken answer against these, and tells you which one you named.

Where it is recorded

Records by month in Virginia.January 6, February 6, March 7, April 11, May 14, June 7, July 6, August 5, September 6, October 6, November 5, December 5.
United States425
Virginia83
Maryland76
West Virginia65
Pennsylvania41
Ohio34
New York28
Indiana12
Massachusetts11
North Carolina10

Counts show where people looked, not only where it lives.

Traits

Behavioral

  • EusocialLives in colonies with division of labor and cooperative brood careFrom its classification

Physical

  • ExoskeletonHas a hard external skeletonFrom its classification

Practical

  • StingingCan deliver a painful stingFrom its classification

Classification

KingdomAnimals · Animalia
PhylumArthropods · Arthropoda
ClassInsects · Insecta
OrderAnts, Bees, Wasps, and Sawflies · Hymenoptera
FamilyHornets, Paper Wasps, Potter Wasps, and Allies · Vespidae
GenusUmbrella Paper Wasps · Polistes

Sources

Remember the name next time.

Practise Parametric Paper Wasp with real photos from different observers. Say the name out loud, and it comes back just before you would forget it.