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- ›Polistini
Umbrella Paper Wasps
Polistes
Wasps of the cosmopolitan genus Polistes (the only genus in the tribe Polistini) are the most familiar of the polistine wasps, and are the most common type of paper wasp in North America. It is also the single largest genus within the family Vespidae, with over 300 recognized species and subspecies. Their innate preferences for nest-building sites leads them to commonly build nests on human habitation, where they can be very unwelcome; although generally not aggressive,...
8 branches of this genus, most-observed first
fuscatus-group Paper Wasps
subgenusFuscopolistes
dominula-group Paper Wasps
subgenusPolistes
canadensis/exclamans-group Paper Wasps
subgenusAphanilopterus
sagittarius/stigma-group Paper Wasps
subgenusPolistella
olivaceus-group Paper Wasps
subgenusGyrostoma
major-group Paper Wasps
subgenusPalisotius
carnifex-group Paper Wasps
subgenusOnerarius
bicolor-group Paper Wasps
subgenusEpicnemius
Where it lives
Recorded sightings
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geo-referenced records in GBIF, from museums, herbaria and field observers.
Drag the globe to turn it. Dots are where records exist, not a range map; darker means more records.
In the stacks
Searching the stacks…
Every page naming Polistes in the Biodiversity Heritage Library →
This page is assembled live from iNaturalist, GBIF, Wikipedia, the Source Library and the Internet Archive. It is not yet part of the hand-edited codex. iNaturalist taxon 52756.