 Polistes metricus (Paper Wasp). | That's a pretty big 'paper wasp' cleaning its antennae on a jasmine leave. There are sooo many wasps and bees but it really looks like Polistes metricus. Males and females have yellow and red/brown faces, respectively. So this one is likely a gal. Only the females sting.
They mainly feed on caterpillars, which surprises me because I haven't found any recently. They have an interesting life cycle as described on the wikipedia page. bug guide: http://bugguide.net/node/view/60264 wikipedia: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Polistes Texas A&M: http://insects.tamu.edu/fieldguide/cimg348.html | |
 Polistes dorsalis (Paper Wasp (nonspecific)). | This colorful paper wasp is Polistes dorsalis resting(?) on a lantana leave. The genus has 18 or 19 species in the US and Canada. So I have still a few to go.
bug guide (these photos): http://bugguide.net/node/view/569239 |
