European Paper Wasp

Polistes dominula

Taxonomy

Kingdom: Animalia Phylum: Arthropoda Class: Insecta Order: Hymenoptera Family: Vespidae Genus: Polistes

About

The European paper wasp (Polistes dominula, often misspelled as dominulus) is one of the most common and well-known species of social wasps in the genus Polistes. Its diet is more diverse than that of most Polistes species (many genera of insects versus mainly caterpillars in other Polistes), giving it superior survival value over many other wasp species during a shortage of resources.