Red paper wasp
The red paper wasp is a slim wasp with a rusty red head and body and dark wings. It builds a house out of paper that it makes all by itself. It chews wood and plant bits with its spit until they turn into paper.
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Fun facts
Its nest looks like an upside down umbrella, with little six-sided rooms that open at the bottom.
It likes to hide its nest in safe spots, like hollow trees, under bridges or under the edge of a roof.
In spring, a young queen starts a new nest. Often her sisters come to help her.
The great scientist Carl Linnaeus described this wasp way back in 1767.
It has a very close cousin that looks almost the same. Scientists tell them apart by tiny hairs and ridges on their bodies.
Most asked questions about Red paper wasp
?Where do red paper wasps build nests?
In sheltered places, like hollow trees, under bridges and under roofs and eaves.
?How big is a red paper wasp?
It is about 2.5 to 3 centimetres long.
For bug experts
- Scientific name
- Polistes carolina
- Named by
- Linnaeus, 1767
- Group
- Wasps and hornets
- Family
- Vespidae
- Classification
- Insecta > Hymenoptera > Vespidae
- Lives on
- North America
Where the facts come from
- Polistes carolina (Wikipedia, CC BY-SA 4.0): what it looks like, where it lives, what it eats, sizes and fun facts, retold in simple words.
- Picture by Insects Unlocked. CC0, Wikimedia Commons. The round sticker of this bug is cut from the same picture.
If we got something wrong, sorry, we are bug fans, not a science journal. Tell us at hello@bugwiki.app and we will fix it.
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