HYMENOPTERA :: Vespidae :: Polistinae

Polistes Latreille, 1802

馬蜂

Appearance

Clypeus with a pointed apex, gena that is wide throughout, T1 is almost straight to gently arched in profile, mid tibia has two spurs, tarsal claws simple. Can be distinguished from other Polistinae by a sessile metasoma (T1 at most slightly longer than wide), and the fourth mid and hind tarsomeres symmetrical. 

Biology

Nests single-layered, umbrella shaped, with the cells exposed to the air from the bottom, and no layer wrapping around the nest. The nests are suspended from a surface by a petiole and are constructed from a paper-like substance made of a mix of saliva and wood fibres chewed off old and soft wood or dead twigs. Many Polistes species have nests supported by a elongate petiole.

Distribution

Worldwide.

Sources

Barthélémy, C. A. Provisional Identification Guide to the Social Vespids of Hong Kong (Hymenoptera: Vespidae). Available online: http://insectahk.com

Barthélémy C & Guénard B. 2025. An annotated and illustrated checklist of Hong Kong aculeate wasps (Hymenoptera: Apoid wasps; Pompilioidea; Scolioidea; Thynnoidea; Tiphioidea; Vespoidea; Chrysidoidea). Insecta Mundi 1115: 1–230.

Buck M., Marshall S. A., Cheung D. K. B. 2008. Identification Atlas of the Vespidae (Hymenoptera, Aculeata) of the northeastern Nearctic region. Canadian Journal of Arthropod Identification. 05: 1–492. doi:10.3752/cjai.2008.05 

Carpenter J. 1996. Distributional Checklist of Species of the Genus Polistes (Hymenoptera: Vespidae; Polistinae, Polistini). American Museum Novitates. 3188: 1–39. 

Carpenter J.M. 2008. Review of Hawaiian Vespidae (Hymenoptera). Occasional Papers of the Bishop Museum. 99: 1–18.

Focus Group on Status and Trends and Red List Assessment Final Report. (2014). Agriculture, Fisheries and Conservation Department. Government of the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region. https://www.afcd.gov.hk/english/conservation/Con_hkbsap/bsap_links_to_resources/files/Final_Report_Red_List_FG.pdf

GBIF.org (27 May 2024) GBIF Occurrence https://doi.org/10.15468/dl.93x25t

Hughes, C.R., Queller, D.C., Strassmann, J.E. & Davis, S.K. 1993. Relatedness and altruism in Polistes wasps. Behavioral Ecology 4(2): 128–137, https://doi.org/10.1093/beheco/4.2.128

Jandt, J.M., Tibbetts, E.A. & Toth, A.L. 2014. Polistes paper wasps: a model genus for the study of social dominance hierarchies. Insect. Soc. 61: 11–27. https://doi.org/10.1007/s00040-013-0328-0

Lee J.X.Q & Starr, C.K. 2007. Violent Combat Among Polistes gigas Males (Hymenoptera: Vespidae). Sociobiology 50(2): 337–342.

Walter E. 1975. Pests Attacking Man and his Pets. In: Urban Entomology. Berkeley: Division of Agricultural Sciences, University of California (UC Riverside Entomology) 

Yamane S. 1996. Ecological factors influencing the colony cycle of Polistes wasps. in Natural History and evolution of Paper-wasps; Ed. S. Turillazzi & M.J. West-Eberhard, Oxford University Press, 400pp.