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

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

From Seattle Times • May 25, 2022

Bernd Schöllhorn, a chemistry professor at the University of Paris, was wielding his UV flashlight in the Cuc Phuong rainforest south of Hanoi when its beam landed on a paper wasp nest.

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

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)