From owner-drosophila@net.bio.net Tue Jun 06 23:00:00 1995 Path: biosci!bloom-beacon.mit.edu!usc!news.cerf.net!newsserver.sdsc.edu!news.tc.cornell.edu!travelers.mail.cornell.edu!newsstand.cit.cornell.edu!NewsWatcher!user From: pts3@cornell.edu (phil) Newsgroups: bionet.drosophila Subject: Help!! Paper Wasps Needed Followup-To: bionet.drosophila Date: 7 Jun 1995 02:42:43 GMT Organization: cornell Lines: 24 Sender: pts3@cornell.edu (Verified) Message-ID: NNTP-Posting-Host: cu-dialup-0615.cit.cornell.edu Hello. My name is Phil Starks. I am a graduate student at Cornell University in the field of NeuroBiology and Behavior. I am currently examining paper wasps, specifically Polistes dominulus. I am evaluating their nesting behavior and population genetics. I want to compare animals from different regions -- mostly from the Northeast in areas between Boston, MA and Ithaca, NY. My problem is finding these critters. They tend to congregate in the eves of man-made structures. I have searched state parks and some universities but have only found 4 usable sites. A usable site is one that has been relatively undisturbed (not sprayed with insecticides) for a few years and contains 18 or more colonies. These wasps make un-enveloped nests -- you can plainly see the cells of the comb (it looks much like a gray honeycomb). P. dominulus is the more yellow and smaller of the 2 Polistes species in this region (P. fuscatus is dark brown and the larger of the two animals). At this time of year you may see colonies with anywhere from 1 to 10 individuals, and nests that may contain 8 to 100 cells. If you know of any potential sites please email me. I am offering a $20.00 finder fee for useful sites. Thanks for reading this message Phil Starks (pts3@cornell.edu) .