Several common wasp species in North America have red and black coloring, and which one you’re looking at depends on its size, body shape, and where you found it. The most likely candidates are the red paper wasp, the red and black mason wasp, the blue-winged scoliid wasp, and the velvet ant (which is actually a wasp despite its name). Here’s how to tell them apart and what to expect from each.
Red Paper Wasp
The Carolina paper wasp and its near-identical relative are the most recognizable red and black wasps in the eastern United States. Their bodies are mostly rusty orange-red with darker wings, and they build the familiar open-celled paper nests you find tucked under eaves, porch ceilings, and shed overhangs. A single nest can house dozens of wasps.
These wasps are notably more aggressive than other paper wasps. Guard wasps stationed near the nest entrance will fly out and sting anyone who walks within about 10 feet, often with little provocation. On the Schmidt Sting Pain Index, paper wasp stings rate around 1.5 out of 4, described as a burning, throbbing pain comparable to a drop of superheated frying oil landing on your skin. That’s painful but moderate compared to the worst stinging insects.
If you find a paper wasp nest in spring or early summer, it will be small and much easier to deal with than it will be by August or September, when the colony reaches peak size. Nests discovered in fall will die off naturally over winter, so removal may not be worth the risk. If the nest is near a doorway or high-traffic area, nighttime removal is safest. The wasps are less active in the dark, and a red-filtered flashlight avoids agitating them.
Red and Black Mason Wasp
The red and black mason wasp (Pachodynerus erynnis) is a smaller, solitary species you’re most likely to spot in the southeastern U.S. Its body has alternating bands of dull rusty-red and black. Viewed from the side, the red patches form a triangular shape, and from above you can see a red horseshoe marking on the thorax just behind the head. The area behind the eyes is entirely black, which is the quickest way to distinguish it from other similarly colored wasps. Males also have a yellow plate on the front of their face that females lack.
Unlike paper wasps, mason wasps are solitary. Females build individual nests inside small holes and crevices: tree cavities, old nests abandoned by other wasps, wooden fence posts, and even keyholes. Any straight, narrow tube between half an inch and five inches long can become a nest site. The female packs the deepest point with sand and grit, then provisions the tube with paralyzed caterpillars for her larvae before sealing it off.
Because they’re solitary and fast-flying, mason wasps often go unnoticed even when they’re nesting on your property. They pose very little threat to people. There’s no colony to defend, so they have almost no reason to sting.
Blue-Winged Scoliid Wasp
If the wasp you saw has a black head and front body, two yellow spots in the middle of its abdomen, and a fuzzy reddish-brown rear end, it’s likely a blue-winged wasp (Scolia dubia). The wings have a blue-black sheen that catches the light. Adults are just over half an inch long and are most abundant in August, though they’re active from June through October.
You’ll typically see these wasps hovering a few inches above your lawn. They’re hunting for grubs, specifically the larvae of Japanese beetles and other scarab beetles living in the soil. When a female locates a grub, she burrows into the ground, stings and permanently paralyzes it, then lays a single egg on it. The wasp larva hatches and feeds on the paralyzed grub over about two weeks before spinning a cocoon to overwinter. A new adult emerges the following year.
Blue-winged wasps are genuinely beneficial. They control grub populations that damage lawns and gardens, and they’re not aggressive toward people. If you see several hovering over your grass, it’s a sign you have a grub problem, and the wasps are helping solve it.
Velvet Ants
Velvet ants look nothing like typical wasps, but they are wasps. Females are wingless, covered in dense fuzzy hair (often bright red or orange and black), and scurry quickly across the ground. The largest North American species can move at about 14 centimeters per second. Males have wings and look more conventionally wasp-like.
These insects are built like tiny tanks. Their exoskeleton requires roughly 11 times more force to crush than a honeybee’s, which helps them survive encounters with predators. Their stinger can be up to half the length of their body, and the sting is intensely painful, earning the eastern velvet ant the nickname “cow killer.” On the Schmidt Pain Index, velvet ant stings land around a 2 out of 4, though the pain varies by species.
Velvet ants are parasites of ground-nesting bees and wasps. Females enter the host’s burrow and lay eggs on the host’s larvae. You’re most likely to encounter one walking across bare soil, a sandy path, or your lawn. They’re solitary and not aggressive, but stepping on one barefoot or picking one up will quickly teach you about that stinger.
What a Normal Sting Looks Like
A typical wasp sting causes pain, redness, and swelling confined to the sting site. This is a normal reaction and resolves on its own within hours to a couple of days. Ice and an over-the-counter antihistamine can help with discomfort.
An allergic reaction is a different situation entirely. Warning signs include hives or swelling spreading well beyond the sting site, abdominal cramping, nausea or vomiting, tightness in the chest, difficulty breathing, a hoarse voice, swelling of the tongue or throat, dizziness, or a drop in blood pressure. Anaphylaxis can develop within minutes of a sting and is a medical emergency. If you’ve had a systemic reaction to a sting before, carrying an epinephrine auto-injector is the standard precaution.
Telling Them Apart at a Glance
- Red paper wasp: Long legs, slender body, mostly orange-red, builds open paper nests under overhangs. Aggressive near the nest.
- Red and black mason wasp: Small, alternating red and black bands, black behind the eyes, nests in tiny holes and crevices. Solitary and docile.
- Blue-winged scoliid wasp: Black front half, two yellow spots mid-abdomen, fuzzy reddish-brown rear, blue-tinted wings. Hovers over lawns hunting grubs.
- Velvet ant: Fuzzy, wingless female running on the ground, bright red and black. Extremely painful sting but not aggressive.
Of these four, only the red paper wasp is likely to sting you unprovoked, and only when you’re near the nest. The others are solitary species that sting only in self-defense. If you can identify which one you’re dealing with, you’ll know whether you need to take action or simply leave it alone.