paper wasp
Americannoun
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.
The cocoon caps of several paper wasp species, relatives of some you may see in your yard, fluoresce yellow-green under ultraviolet light and lend the whole nest a groovy glow.
From New York Times ● Sep. 2, 2021
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
“This hornet is exhibiting the same behavior we saw last year — attacking paper wasp nests,” said state entomologist Sven Spichiger, who has been leading the fight against the invaders.
From Seattle Times ● Aug. 12, 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)
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
