Rockport Texas - The History, Legends & Lore 1st Printing | Page 38

LORE: It’s in the best interest of the worker wasps to keep the Queen wasp fat and lazy, otherwise she will remain the physically dominate member of the hive and the needs of the workers will remain of little priority. RED WASP (sp. Polistes carolina & Polistes perplexus) These two species are nearly identical. The only differences between them are the black markings around their thorax. Unlike the more agressive Yellow Jackets, Red Wasps will only sting you if they feel threatened and will normally avoid contacing humans altogether. COMMON PAPER WASP (sp. Polistes exclamans & Var.) There are 22 known species in the U.S. alone and more than a thousand worldwide. LORE: Recent experiments published by the Association for the Study of Animal Behavior, highly suggests that when the workers take over, the overall effeciency of the hive is increased, and the needs of each individual wasp are better met. 37