Is the executioner wasp found in the United States?

No. The executioner wasp (Polistes carnifex) is a Neotropical species native to Central and South America — from Mexico through Honduras, Costa Rica, and into northern South America as far as Argentina. It is not established anywhere in the continental United States. Extremely rare individual strays have occasionally been noted near the US–Mexico border in Texas, but the species has no breeding population in the US. It cannot survive winters in the northeastern United States and has never been documented in New Hampshire or New England.

Is the executioner wasp in New Hampshire?

No. You will not encounter a Polistes carnifex in New Hampshire. The species is tropical — adapted to the warm, humid climates of Central and South America — and it has no established presence anywhere in the continental US, let alone in northern New England. If you have found a large, aggressive-looking wasp in New Hampshire, the far more likely candidates are the native northern paper wasp (Polistes fuscatus) or the invasive European paper wasp (Polistes dominula), both of which are common across southern and central NH. See our paper wasp guide for identification.

Is the executioner wasp a murder hornet?

No — and this is one of the most persistent misconceptions about both insects. The executioner wasp is a paper wasp (genus Polistes, family Vespidae, subfamily Polistinae). The 'murder hornet' is the northern giant hornet (Vespa mandarinia), a true hornet from a completely different genus with a vastly different body plan — a massive orange head, a roughly 2-inch body, and an enclosed social nest. The two insects share nothing beyond being stinging Hymenoptera. The murder hornet was, in any case, declared fully eradicated from Washington State and the entire United States on December 18, 2024, by the USDA and Washington State Department of Agriculture, after three consecutive years without a confirmed detection.

Is the executioner wasp sting really the most painful in the world?

The viral reputation is not supported by the scientific record. Justin Schmidt's sting pain index — the only peer-reviewed scale of this kind — does not list Polistes carnifex at any value. Schmidt's 1983 paper assigned 4.0 only to the bullet ant (Paraponera clavata); his 1990 expansion added the tarantula hawk (Pepsis grossa) and warrior wasp (Synoeca septentrionalis) at 4.0. No subsequent peer-reviewed publication has assigned a Schmidt value to the executioner wasp. The popular '4.0+' claim originates from the Coyote Peterson sting video and subsequent internet coverage. The sting is clearly painful — the video is genuine — but 'painful on camera' and 'assigned a verified Schmidt score' are two different things.

How big is an executioner wasp?

The executioner wasp is one of the larger paper wasps in the world. Body length typically runs 24 to 27 mm, with the largest individuals reaching approximately 33 mm — making it the largest Neotropical species in the genus Polistes. For scale, a US quarter is 24.26 mm in diameter, so an average executioner wasp is roughly quarter-width in body length. Its coloration is yellow with brown or blackish bands, and it has yellow antennae with a dark base — distinguishing it visually from North American paper wasps.

Why is it called the executioner wasp?

The common name derives from the Latin species epithet carnifex, which translates as 'executioner' or 'hangman.' The name was coined around 2010 when the species was formally described or popularized in English-language entomology and wildlife media. It is a dramatic name chosen to reflect the reputation of a painful sting — though, as noted elsewhere on this page, the precise scientific basis for that reputation is thinner than the internet suggests. The species is also sometimes called the carnifex paper wasp.

Is the executioner wasp aggressive?

Counterintuitively, no — the executioner wasp is generally described as a relatively non-aggressive 'gentle giant' under normal circumstances. Like all Polistes paper wasps, it defends its nest actively when disturbed, but it does not aggressively seek out or pursue people in the way yellowjackets or disturbed hornets might. The Coyote Peterson video shows a deliberate, provoked sting, not a random attack. In its native Central and South American habitat, Polistes carnifex is considered an ordinary component of the local fauna that residents coexist with without routine conflict.

What are the only insects that actually score 4.0 on the Schmidt scale?

Three species have been assigned a 4.0 on the Schmidt sting pain index in peer-reviewed publications: the bullet ant (Paraponera clavata), the tarantula hawk (Pepsis grossa), and the warrior wasp (Synoeca septentrionalis). Schmidt's 1983 paper first placed the bullet ant at 4.0; his 1990 paper added the tarantula hawk and warrior wasp at that level. The warrior wasp, notably, is itself a Neotropical social wasp — but it is not Polistes carnifex. Any source claiming the executioner wasp belongs in this group is citing popular media, not the Schmidt index.

What dangerous wasps do live in New Hampshire?

The wasps responsible for virtually all stings and nest-removal calls in New Hampshire are social species: the northern paper wasp (Polistes fuscatus), the invasive European paper wasp (Polistes dominula), and ground-nesting yellowjackets (Vespula species). All three can sting repeatedly and defend their nests aggressively when disturbed. Paper wasps rate Schmidt 3.0; yellowjackets rate 2.0. The large, intimidating wasps NH homeowners often panic over — cicada killers, great black wasps, mud daubers — are solitary, docile, and rarely sting. See our New Hampshire wasp species guide for a full breakdown.

Could an executioner wasp ever show up in New Hampshire?

Only as an extraordinarily rare accidental stray — perhaps hitching a ride in cargo or plant material from its native range — and it could not establish a breeding population in NH's climate. Winters in New Hampshire are fatal to tropical Polistes species that have not evolved cold-hardiness or diapause strategies suited to New England conditions. Even if a single individual somehow arrived, it would not survive long enough to found a colony. For all practical purposes, a New Hampshire homeowner has zero chance of encountering an executioner wasp.

IdentificationAnchor Pest · New Hampshire

Executioner Wasp — World's Worst Sting & Why It's Not in the US

TL;DR

The executioner wasp (Polistes carnifex) is a large tropical paper wasp native to Central and South America — Mexico through Argentina. It is not established in New Hampshire or anywhere in the continental United States. Its fearsome reputation comes from a viral Coyote Peterson sting video, not any peer-reviewed Schmidt index entry; no credible pain-scale source assigns it a value. The only 4.0 species on the Schmidt index are the bullet ant, tarantula hawk, and warrior wasp. If you are in New Hampshire looking for a stinging wasp, the species you actually have is far more likely a northern or European paper wasp.

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What it is
Tropical paper wasp (Polistes carnifex)
Vespidae — subfamily Polistinae; a paper wasp, not a hornet
Range
Mexico to Argentina — Neotropical only
Not established in the continental United States; Wikipedia / en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Polistes_carnifex
In NH or the US?
No — not established in the continental US or New Hampshire
Only extraordinarily rare strays outside its native range
Size
24–27 mm typical; max ~33 mm
Largest Neotropical Polistes; Wikipedia / en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Polistes_carnifex

Overview

Not in New Hampshire. Not in the United States. Here's the real story.

If you searched for the executioner wasp, you almost certainly found a viral video of wildlife YouTuber Coyote Peterson allowing one to sting him — and a cascade of headlines calling it the most painful sting on Earth, or even a '4.0' on the Schmidt index. Before anything else: the executioner wasp is a tropical species from Central and South America, and you will not encounter it in New Hampshire or anywhere in the continental United States. That verdict is unambiguous, not a close call.

Polistes carnifex is a paper wasp — not a hornet, and emphatically not the 'murder hornet' (Vespa mandarinia), which is an entirely different insect from a different genus. The murder hornet itself was declared eradicated from Washington State and the entire United States on December 18, 2024, after three years without a confirmed detection. Neither insect belongs to North American ecosystems north of Mexico.

The '4.0 Schmidt' claim attached to the executioner wasp is popular online but appears nowhere in Schmidt's published research. Justin Schmidt's original 1983 work rated only the bullet ant (Paraponera clavata) at 4.0; the 1990 paper added the tarantula hawk (Pepsis grossa) and warrior wasp (Synoeca septentrionalis) at that level. No credible entomological source lists Polistes carnifex. Fact Animal, reviewing the evidence, notes that the precise '4.0' claim 'doesn't seem to be backed up anywhere.' The sting is painful — Coyote Peterson's reaction makes that clear — but 'painful and viral' is not the same as 'assigned a peer-reviewed pain value.'

What this page covers: accurate biology of the executioner wasp, an honest look at what its sting reputation is and is not, a clear disambiguation from the murder hornet, and — most usefully for anyone in New Hampshire — a direct link to the paper wasps you actually do have in our area.

Field identification

What is the executioner wasp — and is it here?

The executioner wasp has the classic build of a large Polistes paper wasp: a slender, elongated body with a conspicuously narrow waist (petiole), long legs that dangle in flight, and yellow-and-dark banding. It is not the thickset, blunt-headed silhouette of a hornet. For comparison, the northern giant hornet — the 'murder hornet' — has a distinctly oversized orange head and a body that can exceed 45 mm. The executioner wasp at 24–27 mm looks like what it is: a large tropical paper wasp.