HYMENOPTERA :: Vespidae :: Polistinae :: Polistes

Polistes japonicus de Saussure, 1858

日本長腳蜂

Appearance

Workers body length 12.5–15 mm, queens 14–15 mm, males 12.5–13.5 mm. 

Occipital carina incomplete. Pronotum with sparse, minor punctures. Epicnemial carina and mesopleural signum absent. Mesopleuron coarsely punctate. The scutellum disc is slightly convex. Body extensively yellow or orange with black markings on the thoracic sutures. Wings membane with a brownish tint. Anterior margin of the clypeus of male rounded.

Biology

Specialised in caterpillars. Adults recorded to use tree sap. Queens recorded feeding on extra-floral nectaries of Mallotus paniculatus. Nest is open, asymmetrical paper comb with pedicel. Cells not specialised. Nest often attached underside of leafs of shrubs and trees. Cocoon cap brightly yellow, rather dense, shaped as dome. Pedicel  along with attachment at substrate coated with hard secretion. Mature nest usually has 40–80 cells. The colony founded in spring by foundress. Workers emerge soon in spring and during summer. Males emerge and then new reproductive females emerge in late summer. There are usually around 10 -50 females per colony. If foundress dies, next top-ranked worker will inherit the colony and lay eggs.

Distribution

China, India, Japan, Mongolia, South Korea, Vietnam

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.

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

GBIF.org (17 June 2024) GBIF Occurrence https://doi.org/10.15468/dl.2swbra

IIshikawa, Y.,  Yamada, Y., Matsuura, M., Tsukada, M. & Tsuchida, K.  2010. Dominance hierarchy among workers changes with colony development in Polistes japonicus (Hymenoptera, Vespidae) paper wasp colonies with a small number of workers. Insectes Sociaux. 57. 465-475. https://doi.org/10.1007/s00040-010-0106-1

Ishikawa, Y.,  Yamada, Y., Matsuura, M., Tsukada, M. & Tsuchida, K. 2011. Polistes japonicus (Hymenoptera, Vespidae) queens monopolize ovipositing but are not the most active aggressor in dominant-subordinate interactions. Insectes Sociaux. 58. 519-529. https://doi.org/10.1007/s00040-011-0173-y

Jandt, J. M. 2014. Polistes paper wasps: a model genus for the study of social dominance hierarchies. Insectes Sociaux 61: 11–27. https://doi.org/10.1007/s00040-013-0328-0

Nguyen, L. 2016. Diversity of vespid wasps (Vespidae: Hymenoptera) in Lang Son province. TAP CHI SINH HOC. 38. https://doi.org/10.15625/0866-7160/v38n4.8954. 

Suzuki, T. 1986. Production Schedules of Males and Reproductive Females, Investment Sex Ratios, and Worker-Queen Conflict in Paper Wasps. American Naturalist 128. https://doi.org/10.1086/284568