Polistes dominulus

[Olympusman]

[leonardturner]

The slightly low angle and full frame makes an impressive image that goes well with the name dominulus. Maybe even dominant!

Leonard

[rjlittlefield]

Nice picture!

As a group, Polistes dominula is certainly dominant in my yard. We used to have lots of yellowjackets, but since the paper wasps moved in a few years ago, they have won that competition to the extent that it's now a notable event to see a yellowjacket.

As an individual, it's hard to know about the one shown here. In females, dominance is indicated by dark blotches on the face. But in males (indicated here by the yellow mandibles and all yellow face), the important marks are on the abdomen. Google search on elizabeth tibbetts polistes will turn up several papers on the issue of marking versus dominance.

BTW, the names dominula and dominulus are synonyms, both still heavily used. A story about that can be found at https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/European_paper_wasp#Taxonomy .

--Rik

[Olympusman]

Interesting notes, Rik. We have a colony in a space inside the exterior walls of our house. At first I thought they were bees, but after capturing one and examining it (particularly the markings on the top of the thorax) and the mandibles, I knew we had wasps.

Mike