Polistes mongolicus du Buysson

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 : 93-96

Polistes mongolicus du Buysson stat. rev. Figs 17 19

Polistes gallicus var. mongolicus du Buysson, 1911, Bulletin du Museum National d Histoire Naturelle 76: 218 Syntypes males, females (MNHN, ZISP, male from MNHN examined by RN & CvA, hereby designated as lectotype by CvA), type locality: road from Kuqa [Koutchar] to Karashahr [Karachar], China (Xinjiang autonomous region), ix.1909. Stat. rev.

Polistes omissus var. ordubadensis Zirngiebl, 1955, Mitt. Munchner Entomol. Ges. 44/45: 381. Holotype female (ZSM, examined by RN & CvA), type locality: Ordubad, Azerbaijan. Syn. n.

Polistes omissus kaszabi Giordani Soika, 1970: 327 328 Holotype female (HNHM, examined by RN), type locality Duusch ul near Zuunkharaa [Zuun-Chara], Mongolia. Synonymy tentative.

Polistes hellenicus Arens, 2011: 464 Holotype male (coll. Werner Arens, examined by RN), paratype (examined by CvA), type locality: Ano Kotili, Greece. Syn. n.

Remarks.

The species is widespread in SE Europe to C Asia and China. Apart from the original description it was later described as P. omissus var. ordubadensis Zirngiebl from Caucasus and as P. hellenicus from Greece by Arens (2011). Arens (2011) was the first who recognized two different species of the P. gallicus species group in Greece and he described P. hellenicus as new species. He based his description mainly on the short malar space in contrast to P. foederatus with long malar space, and the black venter of the males (yellow in P. foederatus ). Morphological comparison, genetic examination of specimens from a wide geografic range and type study confirms the conspecificity of P. hellenicus and P. ordubadensis with P. mongolicus . Our material increases the known range of the species from Croatia to Central Asia and China, and to NE Africa. The examined type specimen of P. mongolicus from China is somewhat darker than western specimens, but agrees in general aspects with our species definition. For taxonomic status of Polistes omissus kaszabi, see Neumeyer et al. (2014).

Diagnosis.

Within the P. gallicus group the female of P. mongolicus is characterized by a short malar space, the lack of yellow spots on the mesoscutum (present in some females from Greece and western Asia), and usually by a yellow clypeus. Some females mainly from Greece have a very small to a medium-sized transverse spot on the clypeus. See Arens (2011, as P. hellenicus ) for discussion of the colour variability. Polistes foederatus has longer malar space (see key to species).

The recognition of P. mongolicus is not problematic in Greece and farther east, but on the Balkans females may be confused with P. gallicus (see diagnosis of the latter). Males of P. mongolicus occur in two different colour forms. Specimens from Europe usually have the mesosternum entirely black or with a pair of yellowish spots, whereas the mesosternum of males from Asia and Egypt is largely yellow. Recognition of European males is therefore unambiguous.

In N Africa P. mongolicus is restricted to Egypt, whereas P. gallicus occurs in Tunisia, Algeria and Morocco. Specimens from Libya were not examined, but it cannot be ruled out that ranges of both species overlap in this region.

Colour variations. All examined females from Egypt have a yellow clypeus, with at most a minute black medial spot; the hypopygium (sternite VI) is partly yellow or reddish; one of the females has a pair of minute yellow spots on the mesoscutum.

Distribution.

Balkans from Croatia to Greece, east to Central Asia, Mongolia, and China, south to Israel and Egypt.

Specimens examined.

Europe: Croatia, Serbia, Macedonia, Greece, Cyprus. Asia: Turkey (Antalya, Hakkari), Israel (Jordan Valley), Azerbaijan, China. Africa: Egypt (Kairo; Al Fajum).

Genetic results.

Specimens from Croatia, Greece, Turkey, Cyprus, and Azerbaijan were analysed. Polistes mongolicus shows some genetic divergence, mainly between specimens from Cyprus, from Asia and from Europe, with a mean intraspecific distance of 0.88% and a maximum intraspecific distance of 2.04% (Table 1). They all share the same BIN.