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Red Wasp, Paper Wasp

Polistes carolina

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Regional

This bug has been reportedly found in the following regions:

Piggott, Arkansas

Grenada, Mississippi

Broken Arrow, Oklahoma

Bullard, Texas

Early, Texas

Fort Worth, Texas

Little Elm, Texas

Troup, Texas

Tyler, Texas

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Gardener's Notes:

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Scribbles646

Troup, TX (Zone 8b) | April 2015 | Neutral

A common sight in spring, summer and fall, I've not found them to be particularly aggressive, perhaps curious, though wasps or bees don't concern me much, having been around honey bees a lot. The specimens I've seen in east-Texas are rather large at 1.2 to 2 inches long(3 to 5 cm), they may represent a particular sub-species or variety.

bev27777

Early, TX | September 2012 | Neutral

We have about half our birdhouses taken over by the red wasp. They don't seem to bother us unless we get to close. As long as we stay calm around them they just buzz us to warn us away.
They were all over our peach tree trunks this summer, I don't know if they were after the sap or not?

DWMike

Oxford, MS (Zone 7a) | May 2011 | Negative

These wasp are very aggressive here. There are usually 2-3 that fan the nest with their wings and if you get close, they do attack and sting. I have been attacked and stung by numerous Red wasp on a nest that I was unaware of just walking by at over 10 feet away and not just on one occasion either...these guys mean business. The sting is almost as painful as a hornet and makes a large area (the size of a baseball) around the sting site to be sore and tender for several days after the sting.

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