APPENDIX B: Nest Mate Associations of Florida Polistinae Species

The Paper Wasps and Hornets of Florida (Hymenoptera: Vespidae: Polistinae & Vespinae) By Hugo Kons Jr. & Rex Rowan

APPENDIX B: Nest Mate Associations of Florida Polistinae Species

Version 2018.1

This appendix documents the variation among specimens collected from the same nest, and male/female associations from the same nest.

Over 235 active Polistinae nests from Florida were studied for this project, including nests of common species that were photographed but not collected, but not nests of common species that were neither photographed nor collected. We collected nests to document nest mate associations for fifteen Polistinae species in northern Florida, including: Polistes major, P. annularis species 1, P. louisianus, P. exclamans, P. dorsalis, P. bellicosus, P. carolina species 1, P. carolina species 2, P. metricus phenotype A, P. fuscatus species 1, P. fuscatus species 2, P. fuscatus species 3, P. fuscatus species 4, P. fuscatus species 5, and Mischocyttarus mexicanus. One or more examples of nests collected for these species included both males and females, except for P. fuscatus species 3, which contained only females. Exemplar photos of nest mates are included herein for all these species except P. major, which has a single voucher photograph. We have collected nests of Polistes dominula and Polistes fuscatus (typical Transition/Canadian Zone upper midwest phenotypes) with males and females from Wisconsin, but the single exemplars included herein contained only females. Several nests of Polistes carolina species 4 were located early in the season when no more than a few females were present; they were not collected in the hope that they would contain males later in the season, but instead all of them died out and no nest mate vouchers were obtained for this species. We failed to located any nests for Polistes bahamensis (not including the louisianus phenotype, which we treat as a separate species), P. annularis species 2, P. apachus, P. hirsuticornis, P. rubiginosus, P. species 2.1, and P. fuscatus (Florida phenotypes-we have found numerous Transition Zone nests), as well as any nests including the following diagnosable phenotypes of unclear taxonomic status: Polistes annularis phenotype 3, Polistes phenotype 1.1, Polistes carolina phenotype 3, Polistes metricus phenotype B, and Polistes phenotype 2.2, Polistes phenotype 2.3, and Polistes phenotype 3.1.

The easiest species to locate nests for was Mischocyttarus mexicanus; we encountered hundreds of nests of this species, far more than all Polistes nests combined. Nests of Polistes exclamans and P. major were easy to find in suburban areas. We also located numerous examples of nests for Polistes annularis species 1, Polistes louisianus, Polistes dorsalis, Polistes metricus, and Polistes bellicosus. For the aforementioned species the nests included in this appendix are a small fraction of those encountered. Nests of the Polistes carolina species assortment and the Polistes fuscatus complex were much more difficult to find. This appendix includes all nests encountered with both males and females for Polistes carolina species 1 and P. fuscatus species 1, and all of the nests encountered for P. carolina species 2, P. fuscatus species 2, P. fuscatus species 3, P. fuscatus species 4, and P. fuscatus species 5.

Each nest collected has a unique "HLKNEST" nest number code; this code appears on the label of voucher specimens collected on a nest.

A HLK CLUSTER code indicates a group of specimens were found together inactive in a cluster, either on vegetation or a protected area of a wall or eve. Such species specific clusters have been found for Polistes annularis species 1 (on walls under eves), Polistes exclamans (on walls under signs or eves), Polistes metricus (on the underside of palm fronds or willow leaves), and Polistes hirsuticornis (on the underside of palm fronds).

In most cases the number of specimens photographed is a subset of those collected with the nest, and the numbers below indicate the number of specimens of each gender that were photographed for each nest rather than the total number collected.

*=The best photographic documentation of the phenotypic variation found on a nest of a particular species.

POLISTES Latrielle

POLISTES (POLISTES Latreille 1802)

Polistes dominula (Christ 1791)

NEST WI:2: 3 Females

POLISTES (PALISOTIUS Richards 1973)

Polistes major Beauvois 1818

NEST 136: 1 Female

POLISTES (APHANILOPTERUS Meunier 1888)

Polistes annularis Species 1

*NEST 215: 6 Females, 20 Males

NEST 26: 1 Female, 1 Male