第 0972 號，共 1 402 號

Dark paper wasp

Polistes fuscatus

只是會痛會痛，但不會對你造成嚴重傷害。

螫

The dark paper wasp is a social wasp that lives across eastern North America, from southern Canada to Texas and Florida. It often builds its papery nest near people, especially where wood is easy to find. Only the females can sting, and they live in colonies with a clear pecking order.1

分布在

Eastern North America, from southern Canada through the United States to Texas and Florida1

北美洲

首頁

It often nests around human buildings, but it strongly prefers woodlands and savannas where wood is readily available for building. The nest is made from chewed wood pulp and hangs from a single stalk.1

長度

1,5 cm 到 2,1 cm (0,6 in 到 0,8 in)1

最高速度

大約 26 km/h（16 mph）

飛行, 粗略估計

牠吃什麼？

Adults bring back nectar, pulp and prey to the nest. The workers and foundresses use wood fibres to make the nest material.1

Dark paper wasp 的照片 — Dark paper wasp。照片：Judy Gallagher。 CC BY 2.0, Wikimedia Commons.

怎麼認出牠

Slender body with a narrow waist between the chest and the abdomen1
About 15 to 21 mm long1
Northern females are mostly black all over, and may or may not have other markings1
Southern individuals often have yellow or brown and black markings on the face and abdomen, and the patterns vary a lot1
Males have darkened tips to their antennae1

常被誤認為： Southern individuals often have extra markings and can resemble wasps of other species. Northern females are usually almost entirely black, which can help tell them apart.1

毒液力量

螫

毒液從螫針出來。

牠的毒液有什麼作用？

Only the female has a venomous sting. The pain is commonly compared to being pricked with a large needle, such as a tattoo needle.1

牠對人有多危險？

對人的危險: 疼痛可能會非常痛，但幾乎從來不會很嚴重。

牠害怕時會做什麼？

Colony members defend the nest together, and the foundress is the most aggressive defender because she has the most invested in the colony.1

如果牠螫人

把蜜蜂的螫針刮掉，然後冷敷患處。
如果傷者呼吸困難、臉部或喉嚨腫脹，或覺得快要昏倒，這就是過敏急症：打緊急電話，如果傷者有腎上腺素自動注射筆，就使用它。

一定要先打緊急電話（112、000、911）。這是一般急救指引，不是醫療建議。急救基本知識

注意安全

絕對不要碰、抓或捉弄野生動物，就算是很小的動物，就算牠看起來在睡覺或已經死了也一樣。
給牠空間。如果遇到了，保持冷靜，慢慢往後退，讓牠自己離開。
如果被牠螫了：保持冷靜，保持不動，打緊急電話（112、000、911）或趕快去醫院。記住牠的樣子，有照片會很有幫助。

牠不是想來抓你。牠用毒液來捕捉食物或保護自己，而且牠更想躲起來。更多安全知識

在世界上的哪裡？

非洲亞洲歐洲北美洲南美洲澳洲與大洋洲

牠有多大？

牠有多長？

大約跟一根迴紋針一樣長可以在 15 秒內飛過一整座足球場

Dark paper wasp 跟「你」比起來有多大？

只是在你的瀏覽器裡做算術。什麼都不會儲存，也不會傳送到任何地方。

牠有多快？

一隻家蠅 大約 7 km/h (4,4 mph)

Dark paper wasp 大約 26 km/h (16 mph)

一個正在衝刺的人 大約 37 km/h (23 mph)

值得知道

小知識

Non-resident wasps are often chased out of the nest within the first five minutes of entering it.1

Dominance in the colony depends on fertility, and wasps with larger or more developed ovaries usually rank higher.1

Another wasp species, Polistes dominula, has been displacing this species in many areas where it once dominated.1

A colony can contain well over 200 wasps.1

給毒液專家

學名: Polistes fuscatus
類群: 蜜蜂、胡蜂和虎頭蜂
家人: Vespidae2
排序: Hymenoptera
各大洲: 北美洲
寶寶: Eggs are laid into individual cells in the nest. The first eggs produce infertile female workers.1
對人的危險: 2 / 5: 疼痛3