page_title: Polistes dorsalis
section_title: Sting
hierarchical_section_title: Polistes dorsalis / Interaction with other species / Sting
caption_attribution_description: English: adult male Elasmus sp.
context_page_description: Polistes dorsalis are a species of social wasps that can be found throughout various parts of North America. It is classified under the Vespidae within the genus of Polistes. Male Polistes dorsalis wasps can be distinguished from other Polistes species by their distinctly prominent median tubercle of sternum 7. Both sexes can also be recognized due to their v- shaped yellow markings on their head. They are distributed widely across North America and can be found in sheltered nests, typically closer to the ground. These wasps live in a dominance hierarchy in which the queen's role differs from that of ordinary workers. When threatened, these wasps can deliver moderately painful stings. Their venom might also be of human interest for their antimicrobial uses.
context_section_description: Many wasps are known to use their stinging abilities as a means of tactic defense against diverse predators. The physical stinger is distinguished as the part of the wasp that physically injects venom into offenders. The sting, on the other hand, refers to the actual event. The effectiveness of stings tends to be dependent on the level of pain inflicted over the toxicity or paralyzing ability of certain types of venom. On a pain scale developed by Christopher K. Starr in this cited article, Polistes dorsalis ranks in the 2 range on a 5-point scale (from no pain to traumatically painful) which is pretty consistent in comparison to other Polistes species. A number of factors play into the intensity of sting from each individual wasp. The size of the colony, or the size of the aggregation, effects how easily they are to attack when disturbed or feel threatened. It seems that with larger groups of wasps, less provocation is needed for them to attack. Also, the size of the predator and their pain tolerance would also affect this relative pain scale. Smaller animals typically have smaller thresholds for pain than do larger ones. Toxicity, while not the key determinant of effectiveness also play a role, in that venom of higher toxicity tends to be more painful.
caption: An Elasmus male
exif: {}