第 0970 號，共 1 402 號

European paper wasp

Polistes dominula

名字的由來： It is called the European paper wasp because of its native range in Europe and its nests, which are made from paper and saliva. The species name dominula is a noun meaning "little mistress".1

只是會痛會痛，但不會對你造成嚴重傷害。

蜜蜂、胡蜂和虎頭蜂

螫吃：昆蟲

對人的危險: 疼痛可能會非常痛，但幾乎從來不會很嚴重。

The European paper wasp is a yellow and black social wasp that builds nests from chewed plant fibre mixed with saliva, which looks like grey paper. It lives in warm, temperate parts of Europe, North Africa and Asia, and it has spread to many other continents. It matters because it has become a common invasive species in North America.1

分布在

Southern Europe, North Africa and temperate Asia; introduced to New Zealand, Australia, South Africa and the Americas1

歐洲, 亞洲, 非洲

首頁

It generally lives in temperate, land habitats such as chaparral, forest and grassland. It often nests on and around human buildings and structures, which give shelter and are close to food.1

長度

8,5 mm 到 1,3 cm (0,3 in 到 0,5 in)1

最高速度

大約 25 km/h（16 mph）

飛行, 粗略估計

牠吃什麼？

It eats many different types of insects, which is more varied than most Polistes wasps, and this gives it an advantage when food is scarce.1

European paper wasp 的照片 — European paper wasp。照片：Bill Keim。 CC BY 4.0, iNaturalist.

怎麼認出牠

Its body is coloured entirely yellow and black.1
The female's mandible (jaw) is black and sometimes has a yellow spot.1
The outer half of the antennae (feelers) is orange-yellow.1
Wings are about 8.5 to 13 mm long, with little variation between individuals.1
Males have curled antennae and no stinger.1

常被誤認為： Its yellow and black body is similar to that of Vespula germanica, one of the most common and defensive wasps in its native range. In older literature it was often confused with Polistes gallicus, which is now recognised as a separate species.1

毒液力量

螫

毒液從螫針出來。

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？

Its bright yellow and black colouring is a warning colour, and its nests are built in well-protected places to help it avoid predators.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？

小到可以坐在你的指甲上可以在 15 秒內飛過一整座足球場

European 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)

European paper wasp 大約 25 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

Its colonies can include many unrelated wasps: about 35% of the wasps in a colony are unrelated, which is unusual for social insects.1

Males' abdominal spots vary in size, location and pattern, and they signal social rank within the colony.1

If the queen is removed from a nest, the second most dominant female takes over her role.1

In spring, some North American colonies have been seen with more than 80 wasps joining to reuse and expand an old nest.1

The first North American record was in Massachusetts in the late 1970s, and it had spread across the northeastern USA by 1995.1

破解迷思

迷思： The species name is sometimes spelled "dominulus", as authors wrongly assumed the name was an adjective.

真相： Dominula is a noun meaning "little mistress", so under the International Code of Zoological Nomenclature it does not change when the species moves genus.1

給毒液專家

學名: Polistes dominula
類群: 蜜蜂、胡蜂和虎頭蜂
家人: Vespidae2
排序: Hymenoptera
各大洲: 歐洲, 亞洲, 非洲
寶寶: Dominant females lay the eggs, and the queen starts laying in late March or early April.1
對人的危險: 2 / 5: 疼痛3