Stenonartonia tekoraava sp. nov., a new species of potter wasp is described from central Amazonia. By size and color pattern, this species falls into the typically Amazonian mimicry ring of the social wasp Polybia liliacea (Fabricius) [Vespidae: Polistinae]. Comments are made on the Müllerian mimicry rings as a common phenomenon in Hymenoptera and particularly in the family Vespidae. 

The first checklist of the Peruvian Hymenoptera listed 1169 species and subspecies of aculeate wasps, including 173 species of Pompilidae, seven of Scoliidae, 39 of Sphecidae and 403 of Vespidae. Herein are reported 32 species as new for Peru based mainly on the collection of the Natural History Museum, London. The loss of the endemic status of two species is also reported: Entypus peruvianus (...

A review of the literature concerning the phylogenetics of the Vespidae is presented. We also present a new phylogenetic analysis of the Vespidae based on what is by far the largest taxon sample to include molecular data, and the largest phenotypic character dataset ever compiled. Relationships among the subfamilies are Euparagiinae + (Masarinae + (Eumeninae + (Stenogastrinae + (Polistinae + Ve...

Eusocial wasps of the family Vespidae are thought to have derived their social behavior from a common ancestor that had a rudimentary caste-containing social system. In support of this behavioral scenario, the leading phylogenetic hypothesis of Vespidae places the eusocial wasps (subfamilies Stenogastrinae, Polistinae, and Vespinae) as a derived monophyletic clade, thus implying a single origin...

An identification table and descriptions are given to recognize the two species of Hypodynerus (Hymenoptera: Vespidae: Eumeninae) recorded from Brazil: Hypodynerus arechavaletae (Brèthes) and Hypodynerus duckei (Bertoni) comb. n. The lectotype is designated and the male is described for Hypodynerus duckei, its presence being recorded from Brazil for the first time.

A new species of potter wasp from South America, Ancistrocerus sursp. n., is described. A species key and checklist for all described Ancistrocerus that occur south of the Rio Grande are provided. New synonymy includes Odynerus bolivianus Brèthes = Ancistrocerus pilosus (de Saussure), while the subspecies bustamente discopictus Bequaert, lineativentris kamloopsensis Bequaert, lineativentris sin...

Ropalidia marginata is a primitively eusocial, polistine wasp widely distributed in peninsular India. In spite of its primitively eusocial status, queens of R. marginata are surprisingly docile and behaviourally non-dominant (except during the first week or so of their careers as queens). Yet they successfully maintain reproductive monopoly throughout their careers, probably through the use of ...

The establishment of a hornet, Vespa bicolor F., in Taiwan was confirmed based on successful field collection of adults of both sexes and two subterranean colonies. Information on nesting habitat, nest measurement, and colony composition of this species are provided in this article. V. bicolor is the ninth hornet species ever recorded from Taiwan. Possible pathway for the introduction of this a...

Workers in many insect societies interact via body contact with their nest mates, and social biting and other forms of contact may play a general role in regulating task performance. Here I present evidence that social biting affects task performance without direct reproductive conflict in Polybia occidentalis, a swarm-founding eusocial wasp. Polybia occidentalis workers engaged in social bitin...

Cely and Sarmiento (2011) took issue with the cladistic analysis of relationships among species of the genus Synoeca by Andena et al. (2009a), and presented a reanalysis. They claimed that intraspecific variation in the genus is meaningful, and proper consideration yields a conclusion different from that of Andena et al. Both their critique and reanalysis are vitiated by numerous errors, as is ...