Ropalidia amabala is an African species of paper wasp, described in 2022 based on the targeted search for a taxon that was firstly observed in the citizen science platform iNaturalist.

The nest-building material is a nearby lichen, which gives a nest greyish colour and blends it perfectly into the surrounding area.

The majority of the social wasp nest architecture is considered to have evolved as a countermeasure to the ant predation.

However, visual concealment of the nest is considered to reflect selective pressure by visually-driven predators, which are most commonly vertebrates.

[2] In addition, the blackish basal colour and whitish body markings provide another element of visual concealment, in contrast to more bright Ropalidia species that can be encountered along the Eastern African coast.