Paper Wasp

Description:

A North American paper wasp. It ranges throughout the southern Midwest, the South, and as far northeast as New York, but has recently been spotted in southwest Ontario. A single female specimen has also been reported from Dryden, Maine. The wasp is a dark ferruginous (rusty) color with black markings on its thorax and a mostly black abdomen. The tibia is black, and the tarsi are yellow. The three ocelli are contained within a black spot, separate from the antennae. Females bear six abdominal segments, and males bear seven. The insect makes its paper vespiary outdoors just below the roof of a house or in foliage or trees. P. metricus feeds mainly on caterpillars.

Habitat:

Forest area next to small stream.

Notes:

Found on a rail road bridge now used as part of the Crepper Trail.