Polistes (Aphanilopterus) biguttatus Haliday, 1836

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 : 511

Polistes (Aphanilopterus) biguttatus Haliday, 1836

( Figs 3, 4 )

Polistes biguttatus Haliday, 1836: 323 , ♀.

Diagnosis. Female. Body black with extensive brown markings on face, pronotum, tegula, and legs, with two yellow circular spots on the first terga. Wing pigmentation yellowish to faintly brown. Intermediate size, maximum 20 mm in total length. Clypeus slightly wider than it is long or as long as wide, covered by short bristles at its base becoming long toward the apex, with medium-sized and deep punctures, apex pointed, 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 to middle of the eye; humeri not projecting; mesepisternum with short and dense bristles, medium and deep punctation; propodeal concavity widely extended in the center, propodeal striae thin along entire length; tergum I longer than wide with short and dense bristles, punctures strong, medium sized, and deep; tergum II wider than or as wide as long; short and dense bristles, strong punctures. Male. Similar to the females, except for the clypeus with a bidentate apex.

Material examined. 16♀, 1♂ in total. Brazil: Rio de Janeiro , 1♀, 1♂ ( MZSP) , 5♀ ( NHM); Rio Grande do Sul , 1♀ ( AMNH) , 5♀ ( CESC) , 3♀ ( NHM); São Paulo , 1♀ ( AMNH) .

Distribution. Brazil: Paraná, Rio de Janeiro, Rio Grande do Sul, Rondônia, Santa Catarina, São Paulo.

Figures

FIGURES 1–8. Polistes spp. 1, 2. P. (Aphanilopterus) aterrimus de Saussure. 3, 4. P. (A.) biguttatus Haliday. 5, 6. P. (A.) binotatus de Saussure. 7, 8. P. (A.) brevifissus Richards. 1, 3, 5, 7. Dorsal view. 2, 4, 6, 8. Lateral view. Scale bars: 5 mm.