Hornets, Paper Wasps, Potter Wasps, and Allies

Vespidae · 35 species

In Québec, the family Vespidae (order Hymenoptera) counts 35 species of insects. The stars? Bald-faced Hornet, Northern Paper Wasp and European Paper Wasp, the most often observed. The richest region: Capitale-Nationale, with 25 species. Every species has its own page: photos, its season, its habitat and the best places to see it near you.

Species observed by region

Where do the observations come from?

  • Mostly iNaturalist : photos taken by people all over Québec, with the species confirmed by the community.
  • Other public sources : such as eBird for birds and the provincial forest inventories, gathered by GBIF, the global biodiversity data network.
  • What we keep : confirmed observations, with an exact position (not blurred to protect a rare species), that their author allows to be reused.
  • One place counts once : several observations of the same species at the same spot (within 11 m) count as one.
  • So our numbers are lower : than iNaturalist’s total. A region without observations does not mean the species does not live there.

Data downloaded in September 2026.

  1. Capitale-Nationale25
  2. Montréal25
  3. Estrie22
  4. Laurentides22
  5. Montérégie22
  6. Outaouais21
  7. Bas-Saint-Laurent18
  8. Mauricie18
  9. Chaudière-Appalaches18
  10. Lanaudière16
  11. Abitibi-Témiscamingue14
  12. Laval14
  13. Côte-Nord13
  14. Centre-du-Québec13
  15. Saguenay–Lac-Saint-Jean10
  16. Gaspésie–Îles-de-la-Madeleine9
  17. Nord-du-Québec6