Polistes major is a Neotropical species of paper wasp found from South America north into the southern United States.[1] This species is known as avispa de caballo (Spanish: "horse's wasp") in the Dominican Republic.
There are five described subspecies:[1]
Polistes major is a larger species compared to allies within its genus, reaching in length, with a wingspan of up to .[2] It is second in size only to P. carnifex. The coloration varies by subspecies, though the most widespread subspecies, P. m. major, has a reddish-brown ground color with broad yellow stripes. In contrast, the subspecies P. m. castaneicolor and P. m. weyrauchi are entirely reddish with no yellow markings.[3]