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Sticker of Apache paper wasp
Bug card No. 0121 of 4,939

Apache paper wasp

Polistes apachus

The Apache paper wasp is a golden brown wasp with thin yellow stripes. It builds a nest out of a papery material it makes itself. It likes to put its nest in attics and under the edges of roofs.

Lives in
Western North America, including California and Texas
Length
2 cm (0.79 in)
Top speed
about 25 km/h (16 mph)
Flying, estimate
What does it eat?
Like other paper wasps, it catches insects to feed its babies.
For real!Photo of Apache paper wasp
Picture by Insects Unlocked. CC0, via Wikimedia Commons.

How big is it?

How long is it?

Apache paper wasp about 2 cm long (0.79 in)A grain of rice about 6 mm (0.24 in)A toy building brick about 3.2 cm (1.3 in)A crayon about 9 cm (3.5 in)
as long as 3 grains of rice in a rowcould fly across a whole football pitch in 15 secondsmoves 350 times its own body length every second

How big is Apache paper wasp compared to YOU?

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How fast is it?

cool stuff

Fun facts

1

It can grow to about 2 centimetres long.

2

The queen looks just the same as her worker daughters.

3

Its antennae are a dull orange brown.

you asked

Most asked questions about Apache paper wasp

?Where does the Apache paper wasp build its nest?

Often in attics, under the edges of roofs, and in orchards and vineyards.

For bug experts

Scientific name
Polistes apachus
Named by
Saussure, 1857
Group
Wasps and hornets
Family
Vespidae
Classification
Insecta > Hymenoptera > Vespidae
Lives on
North America
Also known as
Texas paper wasp, Southwestern Texas paper wasp, Apache wasp

Where the facts come from

  1. Polistes apachus (Wikipedia, CC BY-SA 4.0): what it looks like, where it lives, what it eats, sizes and fun facts, retold in simple words.
  2. Picture by Insects Unlocked. CC0, Wikimedia Commons. The sticker of this bug is drawn from this picture.

If we got something wrong, sorry, we are bug fans, not a science journal. Tell us at [email protected] and we will fix it.

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