Polistes major is a Neotropical species of paper wasp found from South America north into the southern United States. This species is known as avispa de caballo (Spanish: "horse wasp") in the Dominican Republic.
Subspecies There are five described subspecies: 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 in length, with a wingspan of up to . 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.
References