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Golden paper wasp â€“ Polistes fuscatus

Golden paper wasp – Polistes fuscatus is sometimes also called Northern paper wasp and belongs to the family Vespidae, subfamily Polistinae together with around 21 other paper wasp species in North America and approximately 700 species world-wide.

Golden paper wasp has a small head, with medium sized eyes and medium length antennae. The body is slender and the length is about 0.6-0.8 in (1,5 - 2cm). The abdomen has some yellow or orange bands, but is mainly black.

Polistes fuscatus in North America is found mainly in Eastern part, ranging from British Columbia to West Virginia. It is also found in other parts of the world – Europe, Australia, etc.

Golden paper wasps form small colonies, and make paper nests under tree branches and the eaves of houses. The paper wasp nest is open-faced, single-layered, and shaped like an inverted umbrella. Mature colonies usually have around 30 adults, but nests can sometimes contain as many as 100 individuals.

A solitary queen emerges from hibernation in the spring and builds a small nest using chewed wood pulp. She raises the first generation of workers on her own. After they emerge, these workers collect food while the queen is laying eggs. Males are only produced in fall and mate with young queens, which later burrow into the ground to over-winter. All workers, males, and old queen perish after the first autumn frosts.

Adults forage for nectar and juices from crushed and rotting fruits, their source of energy, and for caterpillars or insects to feed the larvae (young).

Worker wasps will respond aggressively and vigorously to any perceived threat in the vicinity of the nesting site. Since a single wasp may sting multiple times and still retain its stinger, golden paper wasp infestations are considered potentially very dangerous to humans, livestock and pets. In some individuals, wasp stings can cause an allergic reaction (anaphylaxis), but this is relatively uncommon.

Seven deaths over a twenty-year period attributed to wasp stings have been recorded in Australia, mainly among known allergy sufferers. In Europe relative proportions of deaths from wasp and bee stings are 90% for wasps and 10% for bees in Sweden; 63% for wasps and 37% for bees in Denmark, while, in the US, wasp and bee sting fatalities occur with approximately equal frequency.

Despite their possible threat, golden paper wasps are considered beneficial insects owing to their predation on garden pests. Organic gardeners benefit greatly from these wasps because they eliminate the need for pesticides.