About Polistes bellicosus Cresson, 1872
Polistes bellicosus Cresson, 1872 displays the following adult morphological features: Both males and females have lemon-yellow abdominal segments, yellow mandibles, and narrow posterior orbits that widen toward the bottom. Females have a fine central longitudinal black line along their transversely wrinkled mesothorax, while the male mesothorax has two longitudinal lines on the sides. While caste separation exists in this species, all female individuals within a colony do not differ from one another morphologically.
In terms of distribution and habitat, P. bellicosus generally establishes colonies within Texas, though its observed range also extends to North Carolina and Florida. At Brazos Bend State Park, located near Houston, Texas, colonies naturally occur on plants of the genera Baccharis and Rubus, as well as on Ilex vomitoria, within native prairie habitat. Multiple other paper wasp species, including Polistes exclamans, P. dorsalis, P. metricus, and P. carolina, also live in Brazos Bend State Park, which supports multiple habitat types such as native shortgrass prairie and oak forest.
