HymIS forum

by **Anthony Daglio** on 20 Dec 2015, 02:12

AN INFORMATIONAL CHECKLIST OF THE SOCIAL WASPS OF PAKISTAN

The social wasps of Pakistan have not been given attention until recently. Only a few species collected from Pakistan were reviewed in the monographs of Das & Gupta (1983, 1989). The first reviews on the social wasps of Pakistan was given by Dvorak (2007), Gusenlietner (2007) and Aziz (2008). A pictorial key and additional species records for five social wasp species were given in this review including: Vespula nursei Archer, Polistes stigma tamulus (Fabricius), P. olivaceus (De Geer), Ropalidia brevita Das & Gupta, and R. cyathiformis (Fabricius) was done by Mahmood et al (2012). Later, Mahmood et al (2014) produced a checklist of the social and solitary species of Vespidae occurring in Pakistan. Additional records and keys to species of Vespidae occurring in the Pothwar region of Punjab, Pakistan were recorded by Siddiqui et al (2015). In this review new social wasp species were recorded from the Pothwar region including: Polistes wattii (Cameron), P. olivaceus (De Geer), P. rothneyi carletoni van der Vecht, P. indicus (Stolfa), Ropalidia brevita Das & Gupta, R. cyathiformis (Fabricius), Vespa basalis Smith, V, orientalis Linnaeus, V, tropica (Linnaeus), V. velutina (Lepeletier). Most recently, New locality records of Vespula flaviceps in Murree (Punjab) were reported by Bodlah et al (2015). Many new species collected from Pakistan are housed in the National Institute for Biotechnology and Genetic Engineering in Faisalabad, Pakistan. Many species in this collection are included in the specimen photos provided on this post. These specimens were later included in a study by Faiz et al (2016) on a study on the vespid fauna of Gilgit-Baltistan. It is in high hopes that more research can conducted in other areas of Pakistan in the near future to give us a greater understanding on the social wasp fauna of Pakistan, and also on the overall distribution of social Vespidae on the whole.

NEW RECORDS
1.) Recently, three workers of Vespa mandarinia Smith were found in the collection of the National Institute for Biotechnology and Genetic Engineering Faisalabad Pakistan and it can now be recorded for the first time here. The form of Vespa mandarinia occurring in Pakistan is V. mandarinia bellona Smith. NEW RECORD

2.) Another new record from Pakistan is Vespula vulgaris (L.) of which one specimen was found in Astore, Pakistan (also see attached photo): http://www.zobodat.at/belege_detail.php?id=6791285 The color form of Vespula vulgaris occurring in Pakistan is that of V. vulgaris rufosignata Eck. Eck (1998) described Vespula rufosignata based on queens and workers collected in the Kashmir Himalaya. The type specimens of Vespula rufosignata Eck were studied by Carpenter (2009) and compared with Vespula vulgaris specimens from other parts of Asia and were subsequently synonymized under Vespula vulgaris (L.) by Carpenter (2009). The queens and workers of Vespula vulgaris rufosignata Eck tend to have a reddish tinge in the coloration of the markings of the clypeus and thorax, especially in queens. NEW RECORD

GENERAL WORKS
1.) Das & Gupta (1983) A catalogue of the families Stenogastridae and Vespidae from the Indian subregion: http://www.academia.edu/8890119/Das_and ... Vespoidea_
2.) Das & Gupta (1989) The social wasps of India and the adjacent countries: http://www.academia.edu/10009873/Das_an ... _countries

LITERATURE
1.) Dvorak (2007) The Social Wasp Fauna of Pakistan: http://www.academia.edu/1488327/Dvorak_ ... f_Pakistan

2.) Gusenlietner (2007) Uber Vespidae aus Pakistan: http://www.zobodat.at/pdf/LBB_0039_2_0969-0972.pdf

3.) Aziz, A. (2008) Vespidae (Hymenoptera) of NWFP, Pakistan. M.Sc. Thesis. KPK Agricultural University, Peshawar, Pakistan: http://www.academia.edu/25203880/Aziz_2 ... P_Pakistan

4.) Mahmood et al (2012) To The Knowledge of Vespidae of Pakistan: https://www.academia.edu/1881283/Mahmoo ... f_Pakistan

5.) Mahmood et al (2014) Checklist of Vespidae (Hymenoptera) of Pakistan: https://www.academia.edu/19687737/Mahmo ... f_Pakistan

6.) Siddiqui et al (2015) Vespidae (Hymenoptera) of the Pothwar region of Punjab, Pakistan: http://www.academia.edu/10396380/Vespid ... b_Pakistan

7.) Bodlah et al (2015) New locality records of Vespula flaviceps in Murree (Punjab): https://www.academia.edu/11902093/Bodla ... ee_Punjab_

8.) Faiz et al (2016) Wasp fauna (Eumeninae, Vespinae, and Polistinae) in forests of Gilgit-Baltistan, Pakistan: http://www.academia.edu/26609810/Faiz_e ... n_Pakistan

9.) Bodlah et al (2016) First record of Genus Polistes (Vespidae: Hymenoptera) from district Layyah (Punjab), Pakistan: http://www.asianjab.com/wp-content/uplo ... -Final.pdf

CHECKLIST OF SOCIAL WASP SPECIES IN PAKISTAN
SUBFAMILY VESPINAE

GENUS VESPA
a.) Vespa basalis Smith
b.) Vespa mandarinia bellona Smith NEW RECORD
c.) Vespa orientalis Linnaeus
d.) Vespa tropica haematodes Bequaert
e.) Vespa velutina auraria Smith

GENUS DOLICHOVESPULA
a.) Dolichovespula intermedia Birula: http://www.entomologiitaliani.net/publi ... chovespula
b.) Dolichovespula sylvestris Scopolia: http://www.vespidae.be/Vespinae/Dolicho ... estris.htm
Note: Many papers dealing with the social wasps of Pakistan list Dolichovespula intermedia Birula under the incorrect name D. asiatica Archer i.e. Aziz (2008), Mahmood et al (2012,2014). See Carpenter & Kojima (2002) for the correct nomenclature: http://www.academia.edu/1463539/Carpent ... _Vespinae_

GENUS VESPULA
a.) Vespula austriaca Panzer
b.) Vespula flaviceps Smith
c.) Vespula germanica Fabricius
d.) Vespula nursei Archer: http://www.vespidae.be/Vespinae/Vespula_nursei.htm
e.) Vespula vulgaris rufosignata Eck NEW RECORD: http://www.zobodat.at/belege_detail.php?id=6791285

SUBFAMILY POLISTINAE
POLISTES
SUBGENUS GYROSTOMA
a.) Polistes olivaceus De Geer: http://www.vespidae.be/Polistinae/Polis ... vaceus.htm
b.) Polistes rothneyi carletoni Van der Vecht: http://www.entomologiitaliani.net/publi ... t=polistes
c.) Polistes wattii Cameron: http://www.entomologiitaliani.net/publi ... t=polistes

SUBGENUS POLISTELLA
a.) Polistes quadricingulatus Gusenlietner
b.) Polistes sagittarius De Saussure
c.) Polistes stigma tamalus Fabricius: http://www.entomologiitaliani.net/publi ... hp?t=53910

SUBGENUS POLISTES
a.) Polistes biglumis alpium Bluthgen
b.) Polistes dominula Christ
c.) Polistes gallicus omissus Weyrauch
d.) Polistes indicus Stolfa
e.) Polistes nimpha Christ

GENUS PARAPOLYBIA
a.) Parapolybia escalerae Meade-Waldo

GENUS ROPALIDIA
a.) Ropalidia brevita Das & Gupta
b.) Ropalida colorata Van der Vecht
c.) Ropalidia cyathiformis Fabricius
d.) Ropalidia fasciata Fabricius
e.) Ropalidia marginata Lepeletier
f.) Ropalidia spatulata Van der Vecht
g.) Ropalidia variegata Smith

Included in this post are photos of the social wasps of Pakistan starting with queens and workers of Vespula germanica Fabricius.