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Project Noah Nature School
Polistes sp.
Two wasps busily attending to their paper nests made of inverted thin-walled hexagonal paper cones, perhaps stuffing them with caterpillars or some such food for their larvae. At least three of the cells were sealed while the others were open.
The wasps were a medium size. Both slender thorax and abdomen were brown with thin yellow and black bands. Legs were brown.
The nest was attached to the underside of an air conditioning unit in a caravan park.
Most nests are attached in a sheltered spot,usually an overhang with the brood cells which are arranged to orient the growing larvae head-down towards the ground.
The brood cells are made of chewed up wood that are then pressed into thin paper-like material, hence the name.
Adult wasps feed on nectar.
Family: Vespidae
Subfamily: Polistinae
Spotted on Dec 16, 2019
Submitted on Jan 15, 2020
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