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The
Paper Wasps and Hornets of Florida (Hymenoptera: Vespidae: Polistinae &
Vespinae)
Part I: A
Preliminary Illustrated Check List of the Paper Wasps and Hornets of Florida
(Hymenoptera: Vespidae: Polistinae & Vespinae)
By Hugo L. Kons
Jr. & Rex Rowan
Version 2018.1,
February 2018
(a)
Check list only (with links to photo sets for each species)
(b)
Check list with a pair of photos per species
(c)
Check list with a series of photos per species
Web page hosted by Lepidoptera Biodiversity
LLC
ŠAll Photos Copyright Hugo L. Kons Jr.
Check List
[Nest
+] = Nest(s) have been collected with females and males. Nests were collected in Florida unless
otherwise indicated
[Literature
Record] = Reported from Florida in literature, but we have seen no Florida
specimens.
[Hypothetical]
= We have seen no Florida specimens or literature reports, but could
potentially be discovered in Florida.
[Introduced]
= A non native species introduced to the Nearctic from Eurasia.
[Stray]
= Suspected non-resident species that strayed from its breeding range, recorded
from one or two isolated occurrences.
POLISTINAE
POLISTES
Latrielle
POLISTES
(POLISTES Latreille 1802)
1.
Polistes
dominula (Christ 1791)
[Nests+
(WI)], [Introduced], [Stray (one specimen)]
{Florida
Distribution of Specimens Examined: One
record from Alachua County, widespread in northern and western U.S.}
POLISTES
(PALISOTIUS Richards 1973)
2.
Polistes major Beauvois 1818
[Nests+]
{Florida Distribution
of Specimens Examined: Peninsula, also including southern Georgia}
POLISTES
(APHANILOPTERUS Meunier 1888)
Polistes
annularis (Linnaeus 1763)
Species Complex
3.
Polistes
annularis Species 1
[Nests+]
{Florida
Distribution of Specimens Examined: Peninsula and panhandle}
4. Polistes annularis Species 2
{Florida
Distribution of Specimens Examined: South peninsular Florida, Key Largo, one
FSCA specimen from Alachua County}
Polistes annularis Phenotype 3
{Florida
Distribution of Specimens Examined: central panhandle, Gadsden County}
Polistes
instabilis Saussure 1853
Species Complex
5. Polistes
louisianus Bequaert 1940
[Nests+]
{Florida
Distribution of Specimens Examined: Statewide}
Shown
For Comparison: Polistes
instabilis Saussure 1853
6. Polistes
bahamensis Bequaert and
Salt 1931
[Literature
Record: reported
from Louisiana to Florida by Snelling (1983)]
7. Polistes exclamans Viereck 1906
[Nests+]
{Florida
Distribution of Specimens Examined: Statewide}
POLISTES
(FUSCOPOLISTES Richards 1973)
8. Polistes dorsalis (Fabricius 1775)
[Nests+]
{Florida Distribution
of Specimens Examined: Peninsula and panhandle}
9. Polistes
bellicosus Cresson 1872
[Nests+]
{Florida
Distribution of Specimens Examined: Peninsula and panhandle}
10. Polistes apachus Saussure 1857
[Literature
Record: reported from
FL by Carpenter (1986)], [Stray or Mislabeled: a Sonoran Life Zone species]
11.
Polistes hirsuticornis Buck et al. 2012, or species near
{Florida
Distribution of Specimens Examined: Alachua County}
(HYPOTHETICAL):
Polistes parametricus Buck et al. 2002
[Buck et al. (2002) report the
southernmost record from NC near the GA border, but that the distribution is
poorly known in the southern part of the range.]
Polistes (Fuscopolistes) Phenotype 1.1
[Male/female
association uncertain, hypothesized via distribution and pattern]
{Florida
Distribution of Specimens Examined: Alachua County}
12. Polistes
rubiginosus Lepeletier 1836
{Florida
Distribution of Specimens Examined: central panhandle (Liberty County)}
Polistes
carolina (Linnaeus 1767)
Species Assortment
13. Polistes
carolina Species 1
[Nests+]
{Florida
Distribution of Specimens Examined: Peninsula and panhandle}
{Florida
Distribution of Specimens Examined: xeric uplands in north peninsular FL:
Alachua, Suwanee, and Marion Counties}
14. Polistes
carolina Species 2
[Nests:
females only, male
association probable]
{Florida
Distribution of Specimens Examined: panhandle and northern peninsula south to
at least Marion County}
15. Polistes carolina Species 4
{Florida
Distribution of Specimens Examined: western peninsula Gulf Coast (Dixie
County)}
Polistes
metricus Say 1831 Species
Complex
16a. Polistes
metricus Phenotype A
[Nests+]
{Florida Distribution
of Specimens Examined: Statewide}
16b. Polistes metricus Phenotype B
{Florida
Distribution of Specimens Examined: Alachua County}
17. Polistes (Fuscopolistes) Species 2.1
{Florida Distribution
of Specimens Examined: south peninsular Florida (Dade County) and Keys (Stock
Island}
Polistes (Fuscopolistes) Phenotype 2.2
{Florida
Distribution of Specimens Examined: Alachua County}
Polistes (Fuscopolistes) Phenotype 2.3
{Florida
Distribution of Specimens Examined: Alachua County}
Polistes
fuscatus (Fabricius 1973)
Species Complex
28. Polistes fuscatus (Fabricius 1973)
[Nests+
(WI)]
{Florida
Distribution of Specimens Examined: Alachua County}
Polistes
fuscatus
phenotypes from the Canadian-Upper Austral Life
Zones (shown for comparison)
19. Polistes
fuscatus Species 1
[Nests+]
{Florida
Distribution of Specimens Examined: Peninsula and panhandle}
20. Polistes
fuscatus Species 2
[Nests+]
{Florida
Distribution of Specimens Examined: central panhandle and peninsula south to at
least Marion County}
Rare
phenotypes never found on a nest, probably dark forms of fuscatus species 2
21. Polistes
fuscatus Species 3
[Nest:
Females only, male
association hypothesized via distribution and pattern]
{Florida Distribution
of Specimens Examined: central panhandle and peninsula south to at least
Alachua County}
Possible
males (species 3 males have not been confirmed as none have been found on
nests)
22. Polistes
fuscatus Species 4
[Nest+]
{Florida
Distribution of Specimens Examined: Alachua County}
23. Polistes
fuscatus Species 5
[Nest+]
{Florida
Distribution of Specimens Examined: central panhandle and peninsula south to at
least Marion County}
Polistes (Fuscopolistes) Phenotype 3.1
{Florida
Distribution of Specimens Examined: Alachua County}
Examples of unplaced fuscatus complex phenotypes
An extreme form of
species 5?
Probably
extreme forms of fuscatus or fuscatus species 5
MISCHOCYTTARUS
Saussure
24. Mischocyttarus
mexicanus (Saussure, 1853)
[Nests+]
{Florida
Distribution of Specimens Examined: Statewide}
VESPINAE
DOLICHOVESPULA
Rohwer
1. Dolichovespula
maculata (Linnaeus 1763)
[Nests,
not collected]
{Florida
Distribution of Specimens Examined: panhandle and peninsula south to at least
Citrus County}
Note: in most
specimens the face is white/ivory (above); the pink-faced phenotypes (below)
are rarely encountered.
VESPA
Linnaeus
2. Vespa crabo Linnaeus, 1763
[Stray
(two specimens)], [Introduced]
{Florida Distribution
of Specimens Examined: Single specimens from central panhandle (Liberty County)
and northern peninsula (Alachua County)}
VESPULA
Thomson
3. Vespula
maculifrons (du Buysson
1905)
[Subterranean
nests, sampled for workers]
{Florida
Distribution of Specimens Examined: panhandle and peninsula south to at least
Citrus County}
4. Vespula squamosa (Drury 1773)
[Subterranean
nests sampled for workers]
{Florida Distribution
of Specimens Examined: panhandle and peninsula}
