Paper wasp
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Image:Ropalidia.jpg Paper wasps are wasps of the family Vespidae, in the strict sense those belonging to the subfamily Polistinae, but the term is used colloquially to include some members of the subfamilies Vespinae and Stenogastrinae which also make nests out of paper. The wasps gather fibres from old wood and dry dead plant stems, chew them, and mix with saliva to make a water-resistant gray or brown paper. The nests of most true paper wasps are characterised by having open cells and a petiole attaching the nest to the substrate, or place where it is attached. The wasps produce a chemical which repels ants, and they secrete it around the base of this petiole in order to avoid letting their brood become ant food.
Despite the use of the proper name, most social wasps make nests from paper, although some tropical wasp species, such as Liostenogaster flavolineata, use mud, a far easier resource for the wasp to collect. The larger colonial species, Yellowjackets and Hornets, can be very defensive and should not be approached unless one is experienced. All are beneficial in their natural habitat, and should be protected if possible. Since their territoriality can lead to attacks on persons who were unaware of their presence, and their stings can produce a potentially fatal reaction in many individuals, nests in human-inhabited areas may present an unacceptable hazard. In some parts of Europe, however, hornets are a threatened species and are protected by law.
There is one small group of social crabronid wasps, in the genus Microstigmus, which also construct nests out of chewed plant fibers, though the consistency is somewhat different from those of true paper wasps, primarily due to the absence of wood fibers. These are the only eusocial wasps occurring outside the Vespidae, and they also make paper nests.
