Dark-waisted paper wasp
This paper wasp warns intruders with a buzzing sound from half a metre away before it ever needs to sting.
| Where | Gardens and buildings across East Asia |
|---|---|
| Size | 20 to 26 mm body length |
| When | April to November |
This paper wasp has a black body patterned with yellowish-brown markings, and the queen is not visibly different from workers apart from behaviour. Colonies build an open, umbrella-shaped paper nest, often fixed under house eaves.
A young mated female overwinters alone in a sheltered crevice before founding a new nest in spring, and the colony grows through summer as workers emerge. Wasps give a buzzing warning before stinging and generally only do so if the nest is directly threatened.
Traits
Habitat
Towns
Colour
Black, Brown
Active
Day
To people
Take care
Females can sting if the nest is disturbed, and the sting can occasionally trigger a serious allergic reaction in sensitive people.
Activity through the year
Often confused with
Polistes rothneyi has yellow limited to only the last third of the antennae, while female Polistes jokahamae have antennae that are yellow along almost their whole length.
Questions
Is the Dark-waisted paper wasp dangerous to people?
Take care. Females can sting if the nest is disturbed, and the sting can occasionally trigger a serious allergic reaction in sensitive people.
When can you see the Dark-waisted paper wasp?
The Dark-waisted paper wasp can be seen from April to November, by day.
Plate retouched from a museum specimen photo by Auckland War Memorial Museum, CC BY 4.0, GBIF Licence
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Bees, wasps and ants›Wasps and hornets›Polistes
Last updated 2026-09-27. Every entry is checked against published sources.