Polistes versicolor
(Olivier, 1791) · speciesAt a glance
Sources9 archives
Databases and archives Polistes versicolor's data was compiled from.
WikipediaWikimedia Foundation5 languages↗
BioWikiNetmultilingual Wikipediamultilingual↗
GBIFGlobal Biodiversity Information Facility2 382 records↗
ENAEuropean Nucleotide Archive · EMBL-EBI29 eDNA detections↗
BOLD SystemsCentre for Biodiversity Genomics35 specimens↗
Open Tree of LifeOpenTreephylogeny backbone↗
GoaTGenomes on a Tree · Sangergenome & karyotype↗
Tree of SexTree of Sex Consortiumgenome & karyotype↗
GLoBIGlobal Biotic Interactionsbiotic interactions↗Every layer below draws on the sources above — open one to explore it, or use ← → to move between tabs.
Polistes versicolor, also known as the variegated paper wasp or yellow paper wasp, is a subtropical social wasp within Polistes, the most common genus of paper wasp. The most widely distributed South American wasp species, P. versicolor is particularly common in the Southeastern Brazilian states.Zara, Fernando, and Jose Balestieri. "Behavioural Catalogue of Polistes versicolor Olivier (Vespidae: Polistinae) Post-emergent Colonies." Naturalia 25 (2000): 301-19. Print. This social wasp is commonly referred to as the yellow paper wasp due to the distinct yellow bands found on its thorax and abdomen.Gobbi, Nivar, Fernando B. Noll, and Marcelo A. H. Penna. "‘Winter’ Aggregations, Colony Cycle, and Seasonal Phenotypic Change in the Paper Wasp Polistes versicolor in Subtropical Brazil." Naturwissenschaften 93.10 (2006): 487-94. Web. The P. versicolor nest, made of chewed vegetable fiber, is typically a single, uncovered comb attached to the substratum by a single petiole.Torres, RF, VO Torres, YR Suarez, and WF Antonialli-Junior. "Effect of the Habitat Alteration by Human Activity on Colony Productivity of the Social Wasp Polistes versicolor (Olivier) (Hymenoptera: Vespidae)." Sociobiology 61.1 (2014): 100-06. Web. The yellow wasp is frequently found in urban areas. New nests and colonies are usually founded by an association of females, sometimes in human buildings.De Oliveira, Simone, Mariana De Castro, and Fabio Prezoto. "Foundation Pattern, Productivity and Colony Success of the Paper Wasp, Polistes versicolor." The Journal of Insect Science 10 (2010): n. pag. Web. The P. versicolor colony cycle broadly ranges from 3 to 10 months, although there appears to be no relationship between the colony's development and the season of the year. While yellow paper wasps do have clear annual colony cycles, many young queens have the opportunity to hibernate during the winter, forming optional winter aggregations. Dominance hierarchies within these aggregations are characterized by physical aggression of the dominant female(s) towards the associated females, who tend to be sisters.González, J. A., F. S. Nascimento, and S. F. Gayubo. "Observations on the Winter Aggregates of Two Polistine Paper Wasps (Hymenoptera Vespidae Polistinae)." Tropical Zoology 15.1 (2002): 1-4. Web. Wagging movements are also often used as a form of communication within the colony.Esch, Harald. "Wagging Movements in the Wasp Polistes versicolor Vulgaris Bequaert." Zeitschrift für vergleichende Physiologie 72.3 (1971): 221-25. Web. The yellow paper wasp is generally predatory, capturing a wide range of insects, although it often feeds on pollen and nectar as well.Kohler, Andreas. "Floral Preferences of the Polistine Wasp Polistes versicolor versicolor Olivier, 1792 (Hymenoptera: Vespidae: Plostinae, Polistini) in Santa Cruz Do Sul, Southern Brazil." Biociencias 16.2 (2008): n. pag. Web. Therefore, P. versicolor can be useful as a pollinator or as effective pest control.Prezoto, Fábio, Helba H. Santos-Prezoto, Vera L.l. Machado, and José C. Zanuncio. "Prey Captured and Used in Polistes versicolor (Olivier) (Hymenoptera: Vespidae) Nourishment." Neotropical Entomology 35.5 (2006): 707-09. Web.
No narrative description available for this taxon yet.
No structured trait data for this taxon yet.
A DNA barcode is a short, standardised stretch of genes that works like a fingerprint — enough to tell one species from another. Below is the molecular trace Polistes versicolor has left across the world's sequence archives.
At a glance
★ the standard DNA barcode for this group — the short region actually read to tell this species apart. The rest are extra genes sequenced along the way.
The complete instruction manual Polistes versicolor carries — its genome. We read it from three angles — how big it is, how the DNA is packed into chromosomes, and how completely it has been sequenced — and explain how to read each value as you go.
Chromosomes & ploidyhow the DNA is packaged
2n is the full chromosome count in a normal body cell; n is a gamete (egg or sperm), which carries half. Ploidy is how many complete chromosome sets each cell holds — 2× (diploid) is typical for animals, while higher levels (polyploidy) are common in plants. Click any value below to see the underlying records and sources.
2n 622×GoaT · Animal Chromosome Counts Database · TreeOfSex · invert
Record type2 382 records
Range
Wildobservation + sensor
Human sightings and records, or camera-trap / sensor detections — someone (or a device) saw or captured the species in the wild.
Museum / Voucheredphysical evidence
Backed by a physical specimen — a herbarium sheet, sample or voucher held in a collection. “Vouchered” means supported by material evidence, not just an observation.
Wildobservation + sensor
Human sightings and records, or camera-trap / sensor detections — someone (or a device) saw or captured the species in the wild.
Holding institutions5 of 16 geolocated
Institutions and collections holding physical, vouchered specimens of this species — click a row to fly to it on the map.
| Institution | Specimens |
|---|---|
| Natural History Museum Rotterdamlocation not on record | 183 |
| Cornell University Insect Collectionlocation not on record | 135 |
| Provincia di Livornolocation not on record | 15 |
| 14 | |
| The University of the West Indies, Trinidad and Tobagolocation not on record | 10 |
| Cambridge, US | 8 |
| OSUClocation not on record | 6 |
| Philadelphia, US | 3 |
| UFMSlocation not on record | 2 |
| Instituto de Investigación de Recursos Biológicos Alexander von Humboldt (IAvH)location not on record | 1 |
| Universidad del Quindío (UniQuindío)location not on record | 1 |
| PUC-RSlocation not on record | 1 |
| Universidad del Magdalena (UniMagdalena)location not on record | 1 |
| Chicago, US | 1 |
| Puerto Ayora, EC | 1 |
| Instituto Nacional de Pesquisas da Amazônia (INPA)location not on record | 1 |
Where the DNA of Polistes versicolor was picked up in samples of water, soil or air — nobody saw the organism, only its DNA left behind. A trace is a clue that the species was near, not a confirmed sighting.
Signal
Where its DNA was found
How strong is each trace?
Modelled climatemodelled
How to read this: each dot is one detection of this species' DNA in an environmental sample. The confidence meter weighs how many independent studies and places back up the signal — one detection in one study is a hint; many across several studies is solid. Records dated before 2008 (when eDNA methods began) are treated as likely mislabeled and left off the map.