Like most paper wasps, the red paper wasp (
Polistes carolina) constructs nests by chewing plant and wood fibers with saliva to create a paper-like material. When dried, their nests form an upside-down umbrella or dome shape with exposed honeycomb-like cells, opening at the bottom. P. carolina prefers to nest in protected spaces, such as naturally occurring locations in vegetation or the cavities of trees.
Red Wasp by
Paul Sager, on Flickr
CLF
Loc: Raleigh, NC
CHG_CANON wrote:
Like most paper wasps, the red paper wasp (Polistes carolina) constructs nests by chewing plant and wood fibers with saliva to create a paper-like material. When dried, their nests form an upside-down umbrella or dome shape with exposed honeycomb-like cells, opening at the bottom. P. carolina prefers to nest in protected spaces, such as naturally occurring locations in vegetation or the cavities of trees.
Paul, excellent photo and I have been on the wrong end of many wasps during my love for the outside.
Greg
They're amazing creatures. Beautiful shot and interesting info, Paul.
They are fun to photograph but one must be careful. Nice shot, Paul.
Excellent shot Paul. These guys are great engineers.
Thank you Jan, nimbushopper, Ken / kpmac, Donna, Earl, Victor, Greg! After finding this nest under a palm frond, I started noticing them under most every palm frond I thought to investigate. But, the light proved the best the first time. Glad you enjoyed.
Thank you
Jack, merrytexan! If I'd gone looking for red wasps, I might have some different images. There were out of the corner of my eye while chasing butterflies. This nest was too far off the trail to fight closer to, but I probably could have found others closer if I had more experience on where to look. next time, maybe ...
Nice photo and gutsy on your part. That's the first photo I've ever seen of a paper wasp nest and wasp up close. They are amazing structures.
Nice photo and gutsy on your part. That's the first photo I've ever seen of a paper wasp nest and wasp up close. They are amazing structures.
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