Polistes Wasps
Often confused with yellowjackets, Polistes wasps are also a yellow and black paper wasp, but they are a little longer, a little narrower, and the legs are much longer, easily visible hanging beneath the wasps as they fly. The nests are small, and are composed of a single open plate of cells. (Yellowjacket nests have several plates stacked vertically, with an envelope of paper surrounding the whole thing.) Polistes wasps are not aggressive, and rarely sting unless provoked.
A nest usually consists only of a fertilized female and her 8-12 offspring, who abandon the nest not long after hatching. They may build their nests in the open, in a crack or crevice, or inside an attic or crawlspace. They are susceptible to most insecticides, either sprayed on the nest itself or on the cracks and crevices where the wasps come and go.
Frequently, there may be as many as two or even three generations of Polistes wasps produced each season (spring through fall). Most buildings have a few nests; some have many nests. An exterior insecticide treatment under the eaves and of the various cracks and crevices on the exterior goes a long way towards reducing their numbers, as long as the treatment is repeated at the lifetime of the chemical used.
