Polistes Latreille 1802
Creators: name: Selis, Marco
Publisher: name: Zenodo
Year: 2018
Subjects: Biodiversity
Taxonomy
Animalia
Arthropoda
Insecta
Hymenoptera
Vespidae
Polistes

description: Key to the Polistes species occurring in the Philippine Islands
The characters used are applicable to both sexes unless the sex is specified.
1. Clypeus latero-dorsally not or scarcely extending beyond the anterior tentorial pits. Pronotal fovea present. Mesepisternum with dorsal mesepisternal groove...................................................... 2 (Subgenus Gyrostoma)
- Clypeus latero-dorsally extending far above the anterior tentorial pits. Pronotal fovea absent. Mesepisternum without dorsal mesepisternal groove and epicnemial carina............................................... 3 (Subgenus Polistella)
2. Male clypeus apically rounded to truncate, with flattened disc (Fig. 3). Male mandible simple. Male gena as broad as eye at ocular sinus (Fig. 4). Last flagellomere of male curved and tapering only at apex (Fig. 5). Pronotal carina of female not lamellate. Posterior depression of female propodeum broad and shallow (Fig. 6). T1 broader than long and strongly curved dorsally. Body entirely black, wings orange (Figs. 1–2), male face extensively yellow (Fig. 3)....... P. (G.) nigrosericans Bequaert
- Male clypeus apically with a sharp median toot and medially depressed (Fig 8). Male mandible bulging basally. Male gena 1.5× as broad as eye at ocular sinus (Fig. 9). Last flagellomere of male straight and tapering from base to apex (Fig. 10). Pronotal carina of female elevated and shortly lamellate. Posterior depression of female propodeum narrower and deeper (Fig. 11). T1 longer than broad and weakly curved dorsally. Body black with orange band on metasomal segments (Fig. 7), male coloration of face not known in Philippine forms........................................ P. (G.) tenebricosus Lepeletier
3. Small-sized wasp. Marginal cell of fore wing with dark spot (Fig. 46)........................ P. (P.) stigma (Fabricius)
- Medium-sized to large-sized wasps. Marginal cell of fore wing without dark spot.................................. 4
4. Pronotum with striations (Figs. 42, 52).................................................................... 5
- Pronotum punctate, not striate.......................................................................... 6
5. Pronotal striation strong and regular. Border between dorsal and lateral faces of pronotum angled (Fig. 51). Male S7 with a median tubercle (Fig. 53).................................................... P. (P.) strigosus mimus Bequaert
- Pronotal striation irregular, spaces between striae punctate. Dorsal face of pronotum smoothly curved down to the lateral face (Fig. 42). Male S7 without tubercle................................................. P. (P.) sagittarius Saussure
6. Mesosoma sparsely punctate, punctures not touching each other. Female metasomal sterna without longitudinal ridges.... 7
- Mesosoma coarsely and densely punctate, interspaces almost forming reticulation. Female metasomal sterna with longitudinal ridges (Figs. 17, 37).................................................................................. 9
7. Distance between posterior ocelli greater than ocellus diameter. Jugal lobe not reduced. T1 as long as its apical width in dorsal view. S2 of female more strongly convex in lateral view (Fig. 58). Male antenna not elongate, similar to female antenna and with median flagellomeres broadened (Fig. 60). S7 of male with obliquely cut off semicircular area margined with black thick bristles (Fig. 61). Body light red with extensive yellow markings and some reduced black areas..................................................................................................... P. (P.) tenuipunctatus sp. nov.
- Distance between posterior ocelli smaller than ocellus diameter. Jugal lobe reduced. T1 longer than its apical width in dorsal view. S2 of female weakly convex in lateral view (Fig. 27). Male antenna elongate and without broadened segments (Figs. 30, 66). S7 without obliquely cut off area (Fig. 31). Body reddish-brown with narrow pale markings...................... 8
8. Mesoscutum with two longitudinal yellow lines. Tarsi brown (Fig. 65). Wings hyaline-brownish. T 1 in dorsal view 1.1× as long as wide. Male F2–F10 less than twice as long as wide (Fig. 66)......................... P. (P.) williamsi Petersen
- Mesoscutum without yellow markings. Tarsi bright yellow (Fig. 28). Wings strongly fuscous. T 1 in dorsal view 1.3× as long as wide. Male F2–F10 more than twice as long as wide (Fig. 30).............................. P. (P.) flavitarsis sp. nov.
9. Mesosoma with smaller punctures, interspaces not forming reticulation; ventral plate of metapleura largely smooth. Male clypeus with not very deep punctures in basal half (Fig. 18). S 2 in lateral view more convex (Fig. 16). Male S7 depressed, without furrow (Fig. 20). Male F 11 in lateral view with margins convergent from base to apex (Fig. 19). Body black with bright red and yellow markings on whole body.......................................... P. (P.) esperanzae sp. nov.
- Mesosoma with dense and coarse punctures, interspaces forming reticulation; ventral plate of metapleura densely punctured, interspaces shorter than punctures diameter and reduced to striae on anterior margin. Male clypeus with deep punctures in basal half and some shallower ones in apical half (Fig. 38). S 2 in lateral view less convex (Fig. 36). Male S7 with longitudinal median furrow (Fig. 40). Male F 11 in lateral view with margins parallel in basal two thirds, convergent in apical third (Fig. 3 9). Body black with dark-red blotches on head and mesosoma, metasoma with one to five terga with apical yellow-orange band.......................................................................... P. (P.) philippinensis de Saussure
description: Published as part of Selis, Marco, 2018, Revision of the genus Polistes Latreille (Hymenoptera: Vespidae: Polistinae) in the Philippine Islands, pp. 507-531 in Zootaxa 4531 (4) on page 530, DOI: 10.11646/zootaxa.4531.4.3, http://zenodo.org/record/2614887