Polistes major

{{Short description|Species of wasp}} {{Speciesbox |image=Paper Wasp - Polistes major with Queen caterpillar, Fairchild Botanical Gardens, Coral Gables, Florida.jpg |image_caption=''P. major'' in Coral Gables, Florida |genus=Polistes |species=major |authority=Palisot de Beauvois, 1818 |synonyms= }}

'''''Polistes major''''' is a Neotropical species of paper wasp found from South America north into the southern United States.<ref name=checklist>{{cite journal |last= Carpenter |first= James M. |date=1996 |title=Distributional checklist of the species of the genus Polistes (Hymenoptera: Vespidae; Polistinae, Polistini) | url=https://www.academia.edu/1155268 |journal= American Museum Novitates |issue=3188 |pages= 1–39|access-date=27 July 2021}}</ref> This species is known as '''''avispa de caballo''''' (Spanish: "horse wasp") in the Dominican Republic.

==Subspecies== There are five described subspecies:<ref name=checklist/> * ''Polistes major bonaccensis'' Bequaert, 1937 * ''Polistes major castaneicolor'' Bequaert, 1936 * ''Polistes major colombianus'' Bequaert, 1940 * ''Polistes major major'' Palisot de Beauvois, 1818 * ''Polistes major weyrauchi'' Bequaert, 1940

==Description== ''Polistes major'' is a larger species compared to allies within its genus, reaching {{cvt|17 to 22|mm}} in length, with a wingspan of up to {{cvt|45|mm}}.<ref name="Snyder">{{cite web |url=http://www.susanleachsnyder.com/GopherTortoisePreserve/InsectOrderHymenoptera.html#Paper3 |title=Order Hymenoptera (Bees, Wasps, Ants, and Sawflies) in the Christopher B. Smith Preserve |last=Snyder |first=Susan Leach |date= 2013|publisher = Conservancy of Southwest Florida |website= Tortoise Preserve |access-date=27 July 2021 }}</ref> It is second in size only to ''P. carnifex''. The coloration varies by subspecies, though the most widespread subspecies, ''P. m. major'', has a reddish-brown ground color with broad yellow stripes. In contrast, the subspecies ''P. m. castaneicolor'' and ''P. m. weyrauchi'' are entirely reddish with no yellow markings.<ref name=richards>{{cite book |last=Richards |first=Owain Westmacott |author-link=Owain Richards |date=1978 |title= The social wasps of the Americas, excluding the Vespinae |location=London |publisher=British Museum (Natural History) |pages= 477–488 |isbn= 0565007858}}</ref>

==References== {{Reflist}}

major Category:Insects described in 1818