Polistes (Epicnemius) geminatus Fox, 1898

Brito, Samanta, Oliveira, Marcio L., Carpenter, James M. & Somavilla, Alexandre, 2024, The genus Polistes Latreille, 1802 (Hymenoptera: Vespidae) of Brazil: morphological diagnoses, identification key, and geographical distribution, Zootaxa 5496 (4), pp. 509-545 : 528-529

Polistes (Epicnemius) geminatus Fox, 1898

( Figs 57, 58 )

Polistes geminatus Fox, 1898: 448 , ♀.

Diagnosis. Female. Body pigmentation black, with extensive brown spots on the pronotum, mesepisternum, propodeal area and legs; narrow yellow apical bands on the mesosoma. Wings pigmentation shows dimorphism, yellowish to faintly brown or reddish to brown. Relatively small size, maximum 15 mm in total length. Clypeus slightly wider than long or as long as wide, apex pointed, with long bristles located only in the inferior region, and medium-sized and deep punctures present only in the apical region; clypeus-eye touching for an extent equal to or greater than width of antennal socket; central region of the gena smaller than the eyes; occipital carina strong in the center of the head; humeri slightly projecting; mesepisternum with short and dense bristles, punctation small and shallow; propodeal concavity and striae absent; tergum I longer than wide, with short and dense bristles, and strong, medium sized, deep punctures; tergum II wider than or as wide as long, short and dense bristles, strong punctures.

Male. Similar to females, except by short bristles throughout clypeus, occipital carina extending along the entire length of the gena; propodeal area with striae in center.

Material examined. 12♀, 3♂ in total. Brazil: Alagoas , 4♀ ( AMNH); Amazonas , 1♀ ( INPA); Mato Grosso , 1♀, 1♂ ( AMNH) , 3♀, 2♂ ( NHM) , 1♀ ( MZSP); Pará , 1♀ ( AMNH); São Paulo , 1♀ ( AMNH) .

Distribution. Brazil: Alagoas, Amapá, Amazonas, Bahia, Distrito Federal, Goiás, Mato Grosso, Mato Grosso do Sul, Minas Gerais, Pará, Rondônia, São Paulo; French Guiana; Paraguay.

Comments. There are two subspecies; only the nominotypical form is found in Brazil: P. geminatus geminatus Fox.

Figures

FIGURES 53–60. Polistes spp. 53, 54. P. (Epicnemius) davillae Richards. 55, 56. P. (E.) deceptor Schulz. 57, 58. P. (E.) geminatus Fox. 59, 60. P. (E.) melanosoma de Saussure. 53, 55, 57, 59. Dorsal view. 54, 56, 58, 60. Lateral view. Scale bars: 5 mm.