Wasps
Sphex, Polistes and others
Unglamorous, disliked, and among the most effective milkweed pollinators there are.
What it does on milkweed
The great golden digger wasp, thread-waisted wasps and paper wasps all work milkweed heavily for nectar, and their long legs are well suited to the flower’s slot-and-clip mechanism. Studies of who actually moves milkweed pollen tend to put wasps and bumble bees at the top and honey bees a long way down.
How to recognize it
Great golden digger wasps are large, black and orange with golden hair on the thorax. Paper wasps are slimmer, brown or black with yellow markings, and hang their legs in flight.
Where and when
Throughout the United States. Most often seen June to September.
Should you do anything about it?
Leave them to it. Wasps at flowers are foraging, not defending a nest, and are not interested in you.
Wasps: common questions
Are wasps good pollinators of milkweed?
Yes, among the best. Milkweed pollination needs an insect strong enough to pull the pollen sacs free, and large wasps do it more reliably than most bees.
Cite this page
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Milkweed USA. (2026). Wasps (Sphex, Polistes and others). Retrieved DATE, from https://milkweedusa.com/wildlife/wasps-on-milkweed/
"Wasps (Sphex, Polistes and others)." Milkweed USA, 2026, https://milkweedusa.com/wildlife/wasps-on-milkweed/. Accessed DATE.
Milkweed USA. "Wasps (Sphex, Polistes and others)." Last modified 2026-08-01. Accessed DATE. https://milkweedusa.com/wildlife/wasps-on-milkweed/.
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title = {Wasps (Sphex, Polistes and others)},
author = {{Milkweed USA}},
year = {2026},
url = {https://milkweedusa.com/wildlife/wasps-on-milkweed/},
note = {Accessed DATE}
}