Ropalidia plebeja (de Saussure, 1862 )

Handru, Alan, Nugroho, Hari, Saito-Morooka, Fuki, Ubaidillah, Rosichon & Kojima, Jun-Ichi, 2020, Eusocial wasp fauna of Sulawesi Island, the central island of Wallacea (Hymenoptera: Vespidae; Polistinae, Vespinae), Zootaxa 4885 (4), pp. 541-559 : 554-556

Ropalidia plebeja (de Saussure, 1862)

( Figs. 24 , 29 )

Icaria plebeja de Saussure, 1862: 138 .

Specimens examined. Sulawesi I.: South East Sulawesi: North Kolaka : 2 ♀ ( MZB) , 03˚38’S 121˚04’E, Wawo, Tinukari, RU et al. [1 ♀, alt. ca. 98 m, 1.vii.2010; 1 ♀, alt. ca. 70 m, 22-30.xi.2010]; 2 ♀, 2 ♂ ( MZB) , 03˚64’S 121˚09’E, alt. ca. 430 m, Wawo, Tinukari, 29.xi.2010, RU et al. South Sulawesi: Enrekang: 11 ♀, 1 ♂ (nest) ( IUNH) , 03˚29’S 119˚48’E, alt. ca. 500 m, Puncak Lakawan, Bambapuang, 28.x.2000, JK; 2 ♀ ( IUNH) , 03˚27’S 119˚47’E, alt. ca. 650 m, Mendette, Anggeraja, 20.viii.2014, JK et al.; 2 ♀, 2 ♂ (nest) ( IUNH) , 02˚57’S 120˚07’E, alt. ca. 260 m, Battang, Warateluwana, Luwu, 29.x.2000, JK; 1 ♀ ( IUNH), 02˚59’S 119˚53’E, Rantepao, Tana Toraja, 30.x.2000, JK .

Remarks. The R. plebeja species group consists of two Oriental species ( R. rufoplagiata ( Cameron, 1905) and R. andamanensis Das and Gupta, 1989 ), two endemic to Sulawesi I. ( R. plebeja and R. celebensis ) and two Papua-Australian species ( R. turneri Richards, 1978 and R. cristata Kojima, 1989 ). Based on their morphology, the two species endemic to Sulawesi I. seem to be more closely related to the Oriental species rather than the PapuaAustralian species ( Kojima et al., 2002). The absence of any species of this species-group from the Moluccas is yet puzzling from the point view of biogeography of this area and may need further intensive study of their phylogenetic relationships. The present species seems to be distributed throughout the island (North Sulawesi, Gorontalo: de Saussure, 1862: Central Sulawesi, Paso Lake: van der Vecht, 1962; South Sulawesi: Kojima et al., 2002).

Distribution record: Sulawesi I. ( Kojima et al., 2002).

Figures

FIGURES 17–25. ♀ of Ropalidiini species. 17–18. Parapolybia varia. 19. Ropalidia mathematica. 20–21. R. marginata. 22. R. pilosa. 23. R. impetuosa. 24. R. plebeja. 25. R. celebensis. 17, 19–20, 22–24. Habitus, lateral view. 18. Head, frontal view. 21. Posterior part of mesosoma and T1, dorsal view, an arrow indicates paired basal carina of propodeum. 25. Head, mesosoma and T1, lateral view.

FIGURES 26–29. Maps showing distribution records of Sulawesian eusocial wasps. 26. Vespa (four species). 27. Polistes (four species). 28. Ropalidiine species non-endemic to Sulawesi I. (five species). 29. Ropalidia species endemic to Sulawesi I. (three species).