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, 1937
  • Polistes major castaneicolor Bequaert, 1936
  • Polistes major colombianus Bequaert, 1940
  • Polistes major major Palisot de Beauvois, 1818
  • Polistes 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.