Polistes semenowi Morawitz

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 : 96-99

Polistes semenowi Morawitz Figs 24, 57

Polistes semenowi Morawitz, 1889, Horae Entomol. Soc. Ross. 23: 552. 3 female syntypes (ZISP, photo of 1 female examined by CvA who hereby designated it as lectotype), type locality: Copet-dag [Kopet Dag], S Turkmenistan. The illustrated female (labelled: Copet-dag, 29-30.iv.[18]88, A. Semenov, K.F. Morawitza, semenowi F. Morawitz) is the lectotype.

Polistes sulcifer Zimmermann, 1930, Mitt. Zool. Mus. Berlin 15: 610. Holotype male (MFNB, examined by CSE), type locality: Mendel-Penegal, Sudtirol (N Italy). Syn. n.

Pseudopolistes sulcifer var. similator Zirngiebl, 1955, Mitt. Munchner Entomol. Ges. 44/45: 384. Holotype female (ZSM, examined by CvA and CSE), type locality: Ordubad [19]13, leg. Klar. Syn. n.

Sulcopolistes sulcifer auctt. (e.g., Guiglia 1972).

Remarks.

The species was formerly treated as P. sulcifer by authors. See also comments under P. austroccidentalis for the nomenclature and taxonomy of this species.

Diagnosis.

The species can only be recognized based on the shape of the mandible, clypeus, and the colour of male fore and mid coxae. The upper ridge of the mandible is markedly modified in the female and forms a triangle in dorsal view (weaker and more rounded in male). The recognition of males is more difficult because the upper ridge is sometimes only weakly curved and resembles that of P. austroccidentalis . The mandibles (frontal view) differ between both species in that the mandibular depression is narrower in P. austroccidentalis and with a wider upper mandibular ridge. Furthermore, the male fore coxa is almost always and the mid coxa usually marked with yellow as opposed to P. austroccidentalis where all coxae are black.

Life history.

Polistes semenowi is a social parasite of P. dominula (see Cervo 2006, as P. sulcifer ), in western Asia probably also of P. bucharensis .

Distribution.

S and C Europe, north to Germany (Hesse, one record from 1908; Tischendorf et al. 2015 as P. sulcifer ), east to Central Asia, not recorded from Spain and Portugal. One female in coll. MFNB labelled Egypt, Ehrenberg leg] has more yellow coloured hind coxa than usual. Its origin is doubtful as is that of an atrimandibularis specimen with the same data (see discussion under that species). No other specimens from North Africa have been examined by the authors. Males are sometimes found at higher altitudes (e.g., five males from Italy, Dolomiti, Rif. Coldai at 2150 m; 2 males from Greece, Mt. Olympus at 2200-2500 m, in coll. CSE).

Specimens examined.

Europe: France, Croatia, Italy (Alps, Abruzzi, Calabria, Sicily), Greece, Macedonia, Montenegro, Serbia, Switzerland. Asia: Azerbaijan, Turkey (Uludag, Bursa, Van), Syria, Egypt, Turkmenistan.

Genetic data.

Barcoded specimens from south-central Europe showed little genetic variation.