Vespid Wasp (Vespidae, Hymenoptera) on Scale Broom, maybe Polistes dorsalis californicus?
This is a beautiful Vespid Wasp (Vespidae, Hymenoptera) on a flowering shrub of native composite Scale Broom (Lepidospartum squamatum) in the Asteraceae plant family by the river. I believe this one is a Paper Wasp (genus Polistes) - maybe Polistes dorsalis californicus, but there are a number of these wasps with "desert colors" like this - all handsome. I usually only see these wasps near the end of summer, and I've never seen their nests. (Paradise, Santa Ynez River, 14 September 2015)
Vespid Wasp (Vespidae, Hymenoptera) on Scale Broom, maybe Polistes dorsalis californicus?
This is a beautiful Vespid Wasp (Vespidae, Hymenoptera) on a flowering shrub of native composite Scale Broom (Lepidospartum squamatum) in the Asteraceae plant family by the river. I believe this one is a Paper Wasp (genus Polistes) - maybe Polistes dorsalis californicus, but there are a number of these wasps with "desert colors" like this - all handsome. I usually only see these wasps near the end of summer, and I've never seen their nests. (Paradise, Santa Ynez River, 14 September 2015)