---
title: "Fine-backed Red Paper Wasp"
description: "Polistes carolina — Insects & spiders. Polistes carolina is one of two species of red paper wasp found in the eastern United States (the other being Polistes rubiginosus) and is noted for the finer ridges on its propodeum."
canonical: https://animalchecklist.com/animal/fine-backed-red-paper-wasp
last_updated: 2026-09-20
---

# Fine-backed Red Paper Wasp

> Polistes carolina — Insects & spiders. Polistes carolina is one of two species of red paper wasp found in the eastern United States (the other being Polistes rubiginosus) and is noted for the finer ridges on its propodeum.

- Scientific name: *Polistes carolina*
- Category: `insects` (Insects & spiders)
- Habitats: `urban` (Towns & gardens)
- iNaturalist observations: 10062
- Wikidata: [Q14422645](https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q14422645)
- iNaturalist taxon: [121792](https://www.inaturalist.org/taxa/121792)

## Names

- en: Fine-backed Red Paper Wasp
- es: Avispa papelera de Carolina

## Countries with the most observations

US (4847), BM (6), MX (3)

## Summary

Polistes carolina is one of two species of red paper wasp found in the eastern United States (the other being Polistes rubiginosus) and is noted for the finer ridges on its propodeum. It is a social wasp in the family Vespidae and subfamily Polistinae. The species is native to the United States from Texas to Florida, north to New York, and west to Nebraska. The wasp's common name is due to the reddish-brown color of its head and body. P. carolina prefer to build their nests in protected spaces.

Text: Wikipedia (en), CC BY-SA 4.0 — https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Polistes_carolina

## Photo

![Fine-backed Red Paper Wasp](https://animalchecklist.com/img/animals/fine-backed-red-paper-wasp/medium.jpg)

Photo: Kristi Zoebelein · CC0 · inaturalist — https://www.inaturalist.org/observations/235790979

## Machine access

`GET https://animalchecklist.com/api/v1/animals/fine-backed-red-paper-wasp?lang=en` — see [openapi.json](https://animalchecklist.com/openapi.json).