Polistes carolina
In 3 days ~20% in a week ~40%
Polistes carolina is one of two species of red paper wasp found in the eastern United States (the other being Polistes rubiginosus) and is noted for the finer ridges on its propodeum. It is a social wasp in the family Vespidae and subfamily Polistinae. The species is native to the United States from Texas to Florida, north to New York, and west to Nebraska. The wasp's common name is due to the reddish-brown color of its head and body. P. carolina prefer to build their nests in protected spaces.
The first description of Polistes carolina appears in the first volume of Carl Linnaeus' 12th edition of Systema Naturae published in 1767. In this volume, he referred to the species as Vespa carolina. Henri Louis Frédéric de Saussure later moved it to the genus Polistes in 1855 after Pierre Andre Latreille coined the new genus in 1802. P. carolina is within the family Vespidae, which includes nearly all of the eusocial wasps and many of the solitary wasps. It is further placed within the subfamily Polistinae (paper wasps), which is the second-largest of the subfamilies within the Vespidae. The Polistinae contain two main behavioral groups: swarm founding, involving... Wikipedia →
| # | Park | Country | Daily sighting probability |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Great Smoky Mountains National Park | 🇺🇸 United States | |
| 2 | Everglades National Park | 🇺🇸 United States |
| # | City | Country | Daily sighting probability |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Austin | 🇺🇸 United States | |
| 2 | San Antonio | 🇺🇸 United States | |
| 3 | Dallas | 🇺🇸 United States | |
| 4 | Houston | 🇺🇸 United States |
With luck
About 10% of wildlife watchers report a Fine-Backed Red Paper Wasp sighting in Houston on a given day, based on 140 verified sightings from GBIF citizen-science data. It is the 118th most-seen of the 1057 insects we can rate there. Over three days the chance rises to about 20%, and over a week to about 40%, if each day is a fresh chance.
February to November
In those months about 10% of wildlife watchers report a Fine-Backed Red Paper Wasp in Houston on a given day, against under 5% in December and January, the lowest months.
Between noon and 3 pm
Across all the parks we cover, that three-hour window holds the most Fine-Backed Red Paper Wasp sightings with a recorded time, and nearly all of them come between 6 am and 6 pm: it is a daytime animal.
Among the best
Of the 4 cities where we can rate Fine-Backed Red Paper Wasp sightings, Houston ranks 4th at about 10%, level with the leaders once rounded. The best odds are in Austin (United States, about 10%), San Antonio (United States, about 10%) and Dallas (United States, about 10%).
Same genus: Polistes
The closest relatives of the Fine-Backed Red Paper Wasp that you can see in Houston (genus Polistes, Umbrella Paper Wasps) are Metric Paper Wasp (about 10%), Guinea Paper Wasp (about 10%) and Hunter's Little Paper Wasp (about 10%), with each one's daily chance of a sighting.
GBIF citizen-science records
It is estimated from how often the Fine-Backed Red Paper Wasp is recorded against all the insects logged in Houston (140 verified sightings), calibrated against known sighting rates. Figures are rounded to the nearest 10% because citizen-science data supports honest approximations, not decimals, and months with records from fewer than five people show "—". How it works.
