Polistes major


Polistes major is a Neotropical species of paper wasp found from South America north into the southern United States. This species is known as avispa de caballo in the Dominican Republic.

Subspecies

There are five described subspecies:Polistes major bonaccensis Bequaert, 1937Polistes major castaneicolor Bequaert, 1936Polistes major colombianus Bequaert, 1940Polistes major major Palisot de Beauvois, 1818Polistes major weyrauchi Bequaert, 1940

Description

Polistes major is a larger species compared to allies within its genus, reaching in length, with a wingspan of up to. It is second in size only to P. carnifex. The coloration varies by subspecies, though the most widespread subspecies, P. m. major, has a reddish-brown ground color with broad yellow stripes. In contrast, the subspecies P. m. castaneicolor and P. m. weyrauchi are entirely reddish with no yellow markings.