Megapolistes Paper Wasp

Polistes tepidus

Megapolistes Paper Wasp (Polistes tepidus): Standing In for Schmidt's Giant Paper Wasp

This card shows Polistes tepidus, a documented New Guinea Megapolistes paper wasp, as a representative of the unnamed Megapolistes species from New Guinea whose sting Justin Schmidt rated 3.

Schmidt pain rating
3 out of 4, given to an unnamed Megapolistes species from New Guinea
Species shown
Polistes tepidus, a representative, not the confirmed species that stung Schmidt
Look (New Guinea)
Black head and thorax with yellow marks, rusty-orange abdomen banded black, amber wings
Range
Indonesia, Papua New Guinea, Australia and the Solomon Islands
Venom
P. tepidus: LD50 7.7 mg/kg in mice (Schmidt 2019)
Conservation
Not evaluated by the IUCN

Which wasp is this?

Justin O. Schmidt's sting pain index includes a "giant paper wasp" from New Guinea that he lists only as *Megapolistes* sp.: the species was never named. *Megapolistes* is a group of large *Polistes* paper wasps. This card shows *Polistes (Megapolistes) tepidus*, a documented New Guinea *Megapolistes* species, as a representative. It is **not** the confirmed species that stung Schmidt. Separately, Schmidt's 2019 venom study lists *P. tepidus* by name with a pain rating of 3, but it does not say whether this is the same wasp as the unnamed one in the pain index. Megapolistes Paper Wasp appears as an Insecta creature card in Wilder TCG.

Habitat & range

*Polistes tepidus* was described by Johan Christian Fabricius in 1775. It lives in parts of Oceania, mainly Indonesia, Papua New Guinea, Australia and the Solomon Islands, and seven subspecies are recognised. The subspecies *malayanus* Cameron, 1906 was the subject of field observations in New Guinea by Sôichi Yamane and Takao Okazawa, published in 1977.

How to recognise it

In research-grade iNaturalist photos from mainland New Guinea, for example from Lae and Port Moresby, females are slender, long-legged paper wasps with a black head with a yellow face, a black thorax with yellow marks, a rusty-orange abdomen banded with black, amber-brown wings and yellow-orange lower legs.

Nest and food

Workers feed on caterpillars, which they use to provision the nest. Nests are usually built in trees or other foliage but can also be found on buildings, and iNaturalist photos from New Guinea show open grey paper combs hanging under leaves and roof eaves.

The sting

Schmidt rated the sting of the New Guinea *Megapolistes* a 3 on his 4-point scale and described it as: "There are gods, and they do throw thunderbolts. Poseidon just rammed his trident into your breast." (Schmidt, *The Sting of the Wild*, Johns Hopkins University Press, 2016; some online quotations read "Poseidon has rammed"). In his 2019 paper in *Toxins*, *P. tepidus* also rates 3 for pain, and its venom has an LD50 of 7.7 mg/kg in mice, less lethal per milligram than honey bee venom (2.8 mg/kg). A sting can hurt a lot without being especially toxic.

Conservation

*Polistes tepidus* has not been evaluated for the IUCN Red List.

Fun facts about Megapolistes Paper Wasp

  • Schmidt's pain index lists its "giant paper wasp" only as "Megapolistes sp." from New Guinea: the exact species was never named.
  • Polistes tepidus was first described by Johan Christian Fabricius in 1775, as Vespa tepida.
  • Seven subspecies are recognised, including malayanus, the form studied in New Guinea by Yamane and Okazawa in 1977.
  • Workers hunt caterpillars to feed the brood in the nest.
  • Pain and lethality differ: in Schmidt's 2019 table, P. tepidus scores 3 for pain, yet per milligram its venom is only about a third as lethal to mice as honey bee venom.

Megapolistes Paper Wasp vs Warrior Wasp

The warrior wasp's level-4 sting wins this card battle.

There is no record of these two meeting: the Megapolistes paper wasp lives in New Guinea and nearby lands, the warrior wasp in the American tropics. This is a Wilder comparison of two paper-nest wasps from Schmidt's pain index. Schmidt rated the New Guinea Megapolistes 3 and the warrior wasp 4, the top of his scale, and warrior wasps defend their closed nests in large numbers.

Read more about Warrior Wasp.

Common questions about Megapolistes Paper Wasp

How painful is a giant paper wasp (Megapolistes) sting?

Justin Schmidt rated the sting of an unnamed Megapolistes species from New Guinea 3 on his 4-point scale and wrote: "There are gods, and they do throw thunderbolts. Poseidon just rammed his trident into your breast." (The Sting of the Wild, 2016; Schmidt sting pain index).

Which species did Schmidt rate as the giant paper wasp?

He did not name it: the index lists only "Megapolistes sp." from New Guinea (Schmidt sting pain index). This card shows Polistes tepidus, a documented New Guinea Megapolistes species, as a representative, not the confirmed species.

Where does Polistes tepidus live?

Mainly in Indonesia, Papua New Guinea, Australia and the Solomon Islands. Seven subspecies are recognised, and malayanus was studied in New Guinea by Yamane and Okazawa (1977) (Wikipedia).

What does Polistes tepidus look like in New Guinea?

Research-grade iNaturalist photos from New Guinea show a slender wasp with a black head and thorax with yellow marks, a rusty-orange abdomen banded with black and amber wings (Lae; Port Moresby).

Is Polistes tepidus venom very toxic?

Not especially. In Schmidt's 2019 table its venom has an LD50 of 7.7 mg/kg in mice, less lethal per milligram than honey bee venom (2.8 mg/kg), even though its sting rates 3 for pain (Schmidt 2019, Toxins).

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