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Project Noah Nature School
Polistes stigma
Polistes stigma (Fabricius, 1793), called the Tropical Paper Wasp, of family Vespidae, subfamily Polistinae, tribe Polistini, is a small paper wasp distributed in much of Asia. It is a rich brown color with lighter orange brown legs and antennae. The end of the abdomen is banded with yellow. The wings are the most distinctive feature; on the edge of each forewing, which are clear, there is a noticeable dark spot. This is one of the smallest Polistes species, reaching merely 14mm on average. Food: The wasps take caterpillars to feed their larvae. Breeding: Builds a paper nest, usually hanging downwards with open cells on the bottom. Could be subspecies Polistes stigma manillensis de Saussure, 1853 or subspecies Polistes stigma dubius de Saussure, 1867. Both have Luzon distribution. Another ssp, Polistes stigma alagari Petersen, 1987, occurs only in Tawitawi and Palawan.
Backyard garden, spotted on red Euphorbia milii flowers.
Related spotting: http://www.projectnoah.org/spottings/231... Reference: http://vespa-bicolor.net/main/vespid/pol...
Spotted on May 16, 2013
Submitted on Jul 10, 2013
5 Comments
Thank you Tiz. I'm so glad you enjoy this spotting. I'll try to take some shots featuring only these Euphorbia. :)
I keep coming back to this spotting. I think that the flower deserve a spotting of its own, it is so beautiful and unusual (for me) :)
Thank you Tiz :)
Super series :)
Thank you NewYorker and Noel :)