Polistes dominula (Christ)

Schmid-Egger, Christian, Achterberg, Kees van, Neumeyer, Rainer, Jerome Moriniere, & Schmidt, Stefan, 2017, Revision of the West Palaearctic Polistes Latreille, with the descriptions of two species an integrative approach using morphology and DNA barcodes (Hymenoptera, Vespidae), ZooKeys 713, pp. 53-112 : 87-90

Polistes dominula (Christ) Figs 10 12

Vespa dominula Christ, 1791, Naturgesch. Insect.: 229 232 + Taf. 21, fig. 1. Types (+,>) lost, type locality: Kronenberg an der Hoh [Kronberg im Taunus], Germany.

Polistes italica Herrich-Schaffer, 1840, Nomencl. Entomol. 2: 196. Nomen nudum.

Polistes pectoralis Herrich-Schaffer, 1841, Fauna Insect. German. 179: 39 Type (>) lost, type locality: Italien [Italy].

Polistes gallica var. Lefebvrei Guerin, 1844, Iconographie du regne animal de G. Cuvier 3: 447 + Pl. 72, Fig. 6. type repository unknown, type locality: Egypt.

Polistes maculatus Rudow, 1889, Societas Entomologica 3: 171. Uncounted syntypes (type depository unknown), type locality Smyrna [Izmir], Turkey. The nest (befestigt an einem Schilfrohrstengel [attached on a reed stalk]) from where the syntypes were taken puts this synonymy in doubt.

Polistes Merceti Dusmet, 1903, Memorias de la Sociedad Espanola de Historia Natural 2 (3): 146 (key), 149. Holotype male (not examined), type locality: Los Molinos, Madrid (Spain).

Polistes gallicus var. rufescens du Buysson, 1912, Annales d Histoire Naturelle Delegation en Perse II. Entomol. 1: 79. No type designated, neither type locality nor type depository mentioned. No specimens labelled as Polistes gallicus var. rufescens exist at the MNHN (Paris).

Remarks and genetic data.

Polistes dominula and the reinstated closely related species P. bucharensis show high levels of variation in their colour patterns. Previously, both taxa were treated as a single species ( Gusenleitner 1976, Carpenter 1996). Our study revealed the presence of six genetic clusters for the two species, all of which were assigned different BINs by the BOLD system, viz. 1) Morocco, 2) SW to Central Europe (subsequently referred to as western cluster), 3) SE to C Europe (subsequently referred to as eastern cluster), 4) Crete, 5) Cyprus to Azerbaijan, and 6) Azerbaijan (Table 1, Suppl. material 2: NJ tree with clusters 1 6 indicated by numbers next to each cluster). In both, the neighbour-joining and the phylogenetic analysis (Fig. 58, see below), Polistes bucharensis is nested within the P. dominula cluster.

Two of these clusters (2 and 3) occur in Europe. The current data indicate for cluster 2 a south-western European distribution although we could only examine one specimen from France and records from Spain still are missing. The cluster occurs over whole Germany and it is close to the cluster of Morocco (1). The other European cluster (3) includes specimens from Greece and Azerbaijan and seems to have a more south-eastern distribution. It covers whole Germany with the westernmost records from the Aosta valley in the Italian Alps. This cluster is genetically closer to P. bucharensis than to the P. dominula clusters (1) and (2) from the western area and consequently we treat specimens from Crete as P. bucharensis (see above).

The high intraspecific variation (Table 1) and presence of multiple BINs could be the result of several species being present. However, specimens from NW Africa and Europe are very similar and indistinguishable by morphology or colour pattern. Furthermore, Neumeyer at al. (2014) found no sufficient differences in the ITS1 gene between the European clusters 2 and 3. We therefore refrain from describing each cluster as a new species until further evidence is available.

Polistes bucharensis with its eastern clusters (3 6) is genetically closer to the eastern clusters of P. dominula (1, 2). However, specimens of P. bucharensis are clearly separated by colour pattern and male morphology from P. dominula , supporting the notion that they represent distinct species.

The population of Crete seems to be isolated from the remaining populations for a long period, and the common ancestor probably came from the P. bucharensis lineage.

Because of this result, we follow the concept of morphospecies here and treat P. bucharensis as a valid species, separated from P. dominula s. str. by genetics, morphology, and colour pattern.

Diagnosis.

Polistes dominula is the most common Polistes species in Europe. The female is characterised by a mostly or entirely yellow sternite VI in combination with an orange apical half of the antenna. The yellow band on the temple behind the eye in lateral view is interrupted in nearly all examined specimens, except in some from southern Greece and from Tunisia. The clypeal pattern is variable. Populations from Central Europe usually have an all yellow clypeus, most specimens from southern Europe and some from southern Central Europe (e.g. southern Germany) have one or two black medial spots, or a band on the clypeus medially (Figs 38, 39).

The female of P. dominula can be confused with P. associus (see key to species) and with P. bucharensis in western Asia. Polistes bucharensis always has a completely yellow clypeus in combination with a continuous band on the temple behind the eyes. This band is interrupted in most specimens of P. dominula , and the clypeus has often (about two-thirds of examined specimens) black spots or a band in females from southern Europe. For specimens from Crete, see under P. bucharensis .

The male of P. dominula is characterised by the orange apical half of antenna in combination with the lack of any impressions or ridges on the clypeus. It can be distinguished from the similar P. bucharensis by a (partly or entire) yellow mesosternum; the latter is all black in P. bucharensis . Also, the clypeus is laterally somewhat bulging in P. bucharensis , and always without any elevations in P. dominula .

Some specimens of P. dominula (identity confirmed by barcoding) from the Peloponnese (Greece) have some colour similarities of typical P. bucharensis (females with yellow clypeus and with wide yellow band on temple, males with mesosternum entirely black) and resemble P. bucharensis . However, the yellow band on the temple is medially constricted, and the yellow band above the antennal sockets is isolated from both lateral bands. In addition, the mesopleural sculpture is finer than that of typical P. bucharensis . We therefore regard these specimens as pale form of P. dominula at the SE border of its distribution area. The specimens from Greece occur together with typically coloured P. dominula (females: clypeus with large black spot or band, band on temple interrupted; males: mesosternum partly or all yellow). A female from Tunisia (Dougga) agrees in colour pattern with the above-described pale females from Greece and likely belongs to the same whitish form of P. dominula .

Distribution.

NW Africa, C and S Europe as far north as Latvia, but missing in Great Britain, Scandinavia, Crete and Cyprus. Introduced to Australia, North America (including Canada, Buck et al. 2008) and South America. The species has also been recorded from central and eastern Palaearctic regions and from India (e.g. Guiglia 1972). These records need confirmation, because they may belong to P. bucharensis . The easternmost records that we could examine are from western Turkey and from Azerbaijan. However, it can be expected that the species occurs farther east in Russia or Central Asia. One examined female from Egypt is clearly P. bucharensis and P. dominula probably does not occur in NE Africa.

Specimens examined.

Europe: Examined from most countries in Central and S Europe. Asia: Turkey (Termessos/Antalya), Azerbaijan. Africa: Morocco, Tunisia.