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paper wasp

American  

noun

  1. any of several social wasps, as the yellow jacket or hornet, that construct a nest of a paperlike substance consisting of chewed plant material.


Etymology

Origin of paper wasp

An Americanism dating back to 1850–55

Example Sentences

Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.

Red-headed paper wasp, Level 3: “Immediate, irrationally intense and unrelenting. This is the closest you will come to seeing the blue of a flame from within the fire.”

From New York Times • Mar. 3, 2023

Whatcom County residents have reported Asian giant hornets attacking paper wasp nests in the past two years.

From Seattle Times • May 25, 2022

One of the brightest green glows in the animal kingdom doesn’t come from a firefly or a deep-sea fish—it radiates from the nests of the Asian paper wasp, according to a new study.

From Science Magazine • Aug. 24, 2021

On Sept. 21, a family in Whatcom County, Washington, found the first hornet in a paper wasp nest in their home, then deployed a citizen trap where they caught a second and third.

From Slate • Oct. 9, 2020

Being in need of a good, healthy, toe-twisting, neck-twirling specimen to sit for his portrait in an illustration for a forthcoming article on the paper wasp, I cast my eye about my easel.

From Eye Spy Afield with Nature Among Flowers and Animate Things by Gibson, W. Hamilton (William Hamilton)

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