HYMENOPTERA :: Vespidae :: Polistinae :: Polistes

Polistes stigma (Fabricius, 1793)

Appearance

Workers body length 11–14 mm; queens: 11–15 mm; males: 10–11 mm.

Fore wings distally with distinct dark stigma. Mainly rufous, with bright yellow markings on pronotum, metanotum, and bands on apical edge of T1–3.

Biology

Specialised in caterpillars. Nest made with yellowish brown carton, with eccentric shiny pedicel.

Distribution

Australia, China, Fiji, Guam, India, Indonesia, Malaysia, New Caledonia, Philippines, Singapore, Sri Lanka, Thailand.

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

Castro, L. & Dvořák, L. 2009. New and noteworthy records of vespid wasps (Hymenoptera: Vespidae) from the Palaearctic region (II). Boletín Sociedad Entomológica Aragonesa 44: 295–304. 

GBIF.org (27 May 2024) GBIF Occurrence https://doi.org/10.15468/dl.57rd5x

Starr, C.K. 1992. The Social Wasps of Taiwan. Bulletin of the National Museum of Natural History 3: 93–138.