Paper Wasps - Polistes Wasps

Polistes wasps can be aggressive and often make nests under eaves of houses where people walk. Mated queens overwinter in protected places.

Paper wasps hang their paper nests under eaves, in attics, or under tree branches or vines. Nests hang like an open umbrella from a pedicel (stalk) and has open cells that can be seen from beneath the nest. White, legless, grublike larvae sometimes can be seen from below. Paper wasp nests rarely exceed the size of an outstretched hand and populations vary between 15 to 200 individuals. Most species are relatively unaggressive, but they can be a problem when they nest over doorways or in other areas of human activity.