County Gardeners Extension Express

Summer months in Mississippi bring many insects and pests. Some of the most problematic insects are our various wasp species.

Types of paper wasps in Mississippi:

• Guinea wasps (Polistes exclamans): These wasps are small brown and yellow paper wasps. They are often mistaken for yellow jackets; unlike guinea wasps, yellow jackets make their nests in the ground.
• Carolina paper wasps (Polistes carolina): Carolina pa-per wasps are large with black wings and orange in color. These are more aggressive than most other wasps.
• Red wasps (Polistes metricus and Polistes annularis): Red wasps have black wings with dark red thoraxes and darker red, almost black colored abdomens. These paper wasps tend to have larger nests than Guinea wasps.

These insects build nests in empty areas and hidden spaces. When outdoors, you should always check areas such as doorways, fences and gates, under eaves, storage sheds, chairs and other outdoor furniture, and cooking grills.

Wasps can be problematic around the home, but they also have their benefits. They pollinate native plants and flowers. Wasps are also predators of pest insects such as caterpillars and spiders.

Did you know Mississippi is home to wingless wasps? This species commonly known as the “cow ant” or “cow killer ant” is actually not an ant at all; they are wasps. These Eastern velvet ants are large and are red and black in color. The female wasps do not have wings, but the males have wings and can fly. These wasps are known to have extremely painful stings, but thankfully they are usually not aggressive.