Polistes (Aphanilopterus) lanio ( Fabricius, 1775 )

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 : 519

Polistes (Aphanilopterus) lanio ( Fabricius, 1775)

( Figs 25, 26 )

Vespa lanio Fabricius, 1775: 365 , ♀.

Diagnosis. Female. Body pigmentation reddish to brown. Wings pigmentation dark brown to black. Big size, about 25 mm in total length. Clypeus slightly wider than long or as long as wide, covered by short bristles at its base becoming long toward the apex, and with medium-sized and deep punctures present only in the apical region, apex rounded, clypeus-eye touching for an extent equal to or greater than width of antennal socket; gena width at midlength equal to or slightly wider than eye; occipital carina strong, extending through entire gena; humeri not projecting; mesepisternum with short and dense bristles, medium and shallow punctation; propodeal concavity widely extended in the center, propodeal striae strong in the center and weak on the sides; tergum I longer than wide; with short and dense bristles, with strong, medium sized, and deep punctures; tergum II wider or as wide as long, with short and dense bristles, weakly punctate. Male. Similar to females, except for clypeus longer than wide, with pointed apex.

Material examined. 76♀, 12♂ in total. Brazil: Mato Grosso , 1♀ ( MNHN); Paraná , 1♀ ( AMNH) , 18♀ ( NHM); Rio de Janeiro , 1♀ ( AMNH) , 33♀, 3♂ ( MNHN); Rio Grande do Sul , 4♀ ( NHM) , 4♀ ( CESC); Rondônia , 1♀ ( NHM); Roraima , 3♀ ( NHM); São Paulo , 1♀ ( MNHN) , 1♀ ( MZSP) , 8♀, 9♂ ( NHM) .

Distribution. Brazil: Acre, Amapá, Amazonas, Bahia, Espírito Santo, Goiás, Mato Grosso, Minas Gerais, Pará, Paraná, Rio de Janeiro, Rio Grande do Sul, Rondônia, Roraima, Santa Catarina, São Paulo; Trinidad; Colombia; Venezuela; Guiana; Peru; Bolivia; Paraguay; Argentina.

Comments. There are three subspecies, two of which are found in Brazil: P. lanio lanio (Fabricius) and P. lanio satanulus Bequaert.

Figures

FIGURES 19–28. Polistes spp. 19, 20. P. (Aphanilopterus) ferreri de Saussure. 21, 22. P. (A.) goeldii Ducke. 23, 24. P. (A.) infuscatus Lepeletier. 25, 26. P. (A.) lanio (Fabricius). 27, 28. P. (A.) notatipes Richards. 19, 21, 23, 25, 27. Dorsal view. 20, 22, 24, 26, 28. Lateral view. Scale bars: 5 mm.