Natural history and evolution of paper-wasps

Paper-wasps occupy a special place in the history of animal behavior. Temperate species o f Polistes are large, beautiful, intelligent, adaptable, easy to observe, and thoroughly committed to social life. They are also aptly named, being intensely political, in the limited sense that any nonhuman animal may be said to be political. Although they lack parties, states, and ideologies, their power struggles seem eerily familiar to anyone who watches closely enough to see the protagonists as individuals.