Polistes carnifex
| Polistes carnifex | |
|---|---|
| Female P. carnifex from Mazatlán, Mexico | |
| Scientific classification | |
| Domain: | Eukaryota | 
| Kingdom: | Animalia | 
| Phylum: | Arthropoda | 
| Class: | Insecta | 
| Order: | Hymenoptera | 
| Family: | Vespidae | 
| Subfamily: | Polistinae | 
| Tribe: | Polistini | 
| Genus: | Polistes | 
| Species: | P. carnifex | 
| Binomial name | |
| Polistes carnifex (Fabricius, 1775) | |
| Synonyms | |
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Polistes carnifex, commonly known as the executioner wasp or executioner paper wasp, is a neotropical vespid wasp in the cosmopolitan genus Polistes.
It is a very large yellow and brown paper wasp with a mandible that contains teeth. It establishes small colonies, founded by solitary queens, which build nests under the eaves of buildings or suspended from branches. Foraging adults bring nectar and macerated prey back to the nest to feed to the developing larvae which are individually housed in separate cells in the nest.