A worldwide community photographing and learning about wildlife
Polistes dominula
Burnt wood Plant stem
This is actually a third species (noting that this cannot possibly be P. dominula by body and antennal coloration & pattern). Similar forms of P. fuscatus should have a much more extensive dark facial mark, extending down to the antennal bases. The entirely black abdomen also aligns more with P. metricus than with P. fuscatus.
Very nice find! The European Paper Wasp (Polistes dominula) is distinctly colored black and yellow. Your wasp much more closely matches a Northern Paper Wasp. You did get the correct genus. :-)
Compare here: http://bugguide.net/node/view/5081