Polistes instabilis, or unstable paper wasp is a type of paper wasp, is a neotropical, eusocial wasp (family Vespidae) that can be found in tropical and subtropical areas such as Central America and South America.[1] It can be easily identified with its characteristic yellow, brown, and reddish markings, and it builds nests made from chewing plant fibers and making them into paper.[2]
Colonies are usually initiated in the spring after the foundresses have emerged from the winter.[3] Either one or a few queens found each colony by laying eggs, which develop into workers. Although there are no morphological differences between queens and workers, queens can be identified easily by their dominant interactions with workers.[4] While queens are responsible for laying eggs, workers are responsible for gathering materials for the nest, tending to the young, and foraging for food.[5] This species tends to feed on nectar as well as arthropods such as caterpillars.[6]
^"Polistes Instabilis". Retrieved 19 September 2014.
^Jha, Shalene (2006). "The queen is not a pacemaker in the small-colony wasps Polistes instabilis and P. dominulus". Animal Behavior. {{cite web}}: Missing or empty |url= (help)
^Hughes, Colin R.; Joan E. Strassman (1988). "Age Is More Important than Size in Determining Dominance among Workers in the Primitively Eusocial Wasp, Polistes instabilis". BRILL. {{cite web}}: Missing or empty |url= (help)
^O'Donnell, Sean (1998). "Effects of Experimental Forager Removals on Division of Labour in the Primitively Eusocial Wasp Polistes instabilis (Hymenoptera: Vespidae)". BRILL. {{cite web}}: Missing or empty |url= (help)
^Dyer, Lee A. (1997). "Effectiveness of caterpillar defenses against three species of invertebrate predators". Journal of Research on the Lepidoptera. {{cite web}}: Missing or empty |url= (help)
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