Sluggin' Along: Dying Paper Wasp

Today I found a kind of wasp or hornet lying on the sidewalk leading to our front steps. For a while I couldn't determine what it was, but then I was able to narrow it down to a species of Paper Wasp (genus Polistes), so-called because of the nests they make. I believe it may be Polistes dorsalis or the subspecies Polistes dorsalis dorsalis. The markings seem to fit those taxa best. This genus is the most common type of paper wasp. Unlike other wasps and hornets, they aren't aggressive unless provoked and, while they build nests that humans might consider bothersome, they do help curb the caterpillar population that could otherwise devastate a garden.

At first I thought the wasp was dead, but my nudging received a weak response. It was able to move its legs and wings a bit. I don't know whether its helpless state was the result of the cold weather we've been having or of an injury. I'm guess it's a female because males have curly antennae. Her coloring is quite beautiful, especially her brown, mottled, kidney-shaped eyes.