UMBRELLA WASP

Identification, Facts, & Control

Latin Name

family Polistinae

Appearance

1 to 1-1/2in long yellow and black much like a bee.

Umbrella Wasp aka Paper Wasp

The umbrella wasp is the wasp most commonly seen in small nests under the eaves of houses, has been erroneously named "the paper wasp". This is confusing because yellow jackets and hornets construct even larger paper nests. A better name is the "umbrella wasp" because the nest looks like an upside down umbrella. This same wasp is also known as the "Polistes wasp".

Identification and Nest

The Umbrella Wasp =(Paper wasp or Polistes wasp) has a spindle shaped abdomen (distinctly tapered at both ends.) The nest is a fairly common sight on the eaves and in the upper corners of buildings. It is 2-5" in diameter and hangs down from the building (or tree) on a short pedicel, like an upside down umbrella. The bottom side has the hexagonal shaped cells in it, and it looks like a honeybee’s honeycomb. And, indeed, it is called a "comb". The wasp makes this "paper" nest out of weather beaten wood and dead plants chewed in its jaws with saliva. The nest rarely accommodates more than 100-200 individuals. A warm temperature is the environmental factor which most effects wasp activity. The best time to treat the paper wasp is when the temperature cools down (dusk or dawn) by treating the nest and then removing it when the wasps are dead.

Life History

Life history is essentially the same as yellow jackets and hornets. The key differences are that the umbrella wasp has many fewer individuals in its colony; and the umbrella wasp nest is quite different from the nests of the yellow jackets and hornets.

The queen and males mate in the fall. The males then. die and the queen overwinters in a protected place such as a crack, under loose bark, or occasionally in an attic or similar sheltered location.

In the spring the queen emerges from this protected place and selects a site for a new nest. She lays eggs, then collects insects or other meat and feeds it to the young larvae. She continues this until her first brood becomes young adult workers, and then she becomes a full time egg layer while the adult workers continue to expand the nest and collect food. The location is normally the underside of the eaves of a building or a similar location. During this time the workers make up almost the total adult population of the colony. They feed on nectar, honeydew, fruit juices or sap as they continue to feed the young larvae insect prey and bits of meat. ln early to mid-August, males and "queens" (instead of the workers that were produced all summer) begin to be produced. They mate nearby.

And with the onset of winter, the males die and the females hibernate. They abandon the nest and it is not used again. Throughout the season the adult food includes liquids high in sugar, such as fruit juices and probably almost any kind of meat, including many kinds of insects.

Click on a species of wasps below to learn further information.

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