Polistes major

Polistes major major
Nest in West Palm Beach, Florida
Scientific classification
Kingdom:	Animalia
Phylum:	Arthropoda
Class:	Insecta
Order:	Hymenoptera
Family:	Vespidae
Genus:	Polistes
Species:	P. major
Subspecies:	P. m. major
Trinomial name
Polistes major major Palisot de Beauvois, 1818

Polistes major major is a neotropical eusocial paper wasp subspecies most commonly found on the Hispaniola Island and within Central America. It has been nicknamed "avispa de caballo", the horse's wasp, in the Dominican Republic.

Recently, an issue with P. major major was evoked regarding its sting and venom; being larger than native European species, medical treatments in Spain may not be strong enough to counter the stings of the bigger wasps, such as P. major major. Three peptides have been identified from P. major major venom.

P. major major is a subspecies of Polistes major along with Polistes major bonaccensis, Polistes major castaneicolor, Polistes major columbianus, and Polistes major weyrauchi. The overarching species name was accredited to Palisot de Beauvois in 1818.

One can recognize P. major major by its large size in comparison to members of other wasp species, reaching 17 to 22mm in length, carrying a wingspan of up to 45mm. It is primarily yellow with vibrant brown markings and wings.
One can further identify members of a P. major major colony by behaviors specific to a certain rank or class. A queen will rarely leave the nest and she lays the majority of the eggs within the nest, if not all. Female workers are foragers, and often leave the nest to hunt for food. The workers engage in malaxation of their captured prey and drop off pieces into the larval cells, so that the growing brood may feed upon the chewed up food. After 4 to 5 days post emergence, drones will usually leave the nest and not return. Males will mark territory and patrol routes with pheromones released from their face and sternal regions.

Queens are responsible for making the nests. Like most paper wasp nests, the nests of P. major major consist of a gray or papery brown material made by chewing wood fashioned into an open comb shape, containing multiple cells for the queen's brood. A central pedicel or petiole anchors the nest. One can locate the nests under the roofs, rims, and window frames of houses. These nests may also be spotted under palm tree leaves, bridges, metal beams, branches, eaves or culverts. Generally nests are 19 cm in diameter.
Observed P. major major colonies have consisted of 4 to 19 females, 1 to 4 males, 35 to 46 larvae, 28 to 32 eggs, and 13 to 43 pupae within a nest at the time of male engagement in larval feeding.

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Wikipedia