Polistes formosanus Sonan 1927

Kojima, Jun-Ichi, Saito, Fuki & Nguyen, Lien Thi Phuong, 2011, On the species-group taxa of Taiwanese social wasps (Hymenoptera: Vespidae) described and / or treated by J. Sonan, Zootaxa 2920, pp. 42-64 : 49

Polistes formosanus Sonan 1927 [ Polistes (Polistella) formosanus Sonan 1927 ]

Sonan (1927) described this species based on females (body length 16 mm, wingspan 30 mm, fore wing length 14 mm) and male(s) (body length 16 mm, wingspan 40 mm, fore wing length 18.5 mm) from Horisha, Jukirin (Shinchiku), Kan-shirei, Keibi, Namakaban (Niitaka-yama), Rikiriki, Sôzan, Taihoku and Urai. He, however, gave neither number of specimens he examined nor any collection data for each specimen. Saito et al. (2007) designated a female specimen collected in “Taihoku” as the lectotype of Polistes formosanus Sonan, 1927 ; the only specimen from the type series available to them at that time. Saito et al. (2007) provided a picture showing all the labels accompanying the lectotype and detailed description of adult morphology. In TARI, we located the following specimens that could be from the type series, and thus are paralectotypes. Based on their morphological characteristics they all could belong to Polistes formosanus .

Type material. PARALECTOTYPES of Polistes formosanus Sonan, 1927 (all specimens except for the first one have the Sonan's identification label “ Polistes Ƥ [or 3 according to the sex] / japonicus Sauss. / var. formosanus Son. / Det. J. Sonan”): 1 Ƥ, “Jukirin / 24.v.1919 / Col. S. Inamura”; 1 Ƥ “Kanshirei / 10.xi.1926 / Col. J. Sonan”; 1 Ƥ, “ KEIBI / 14 IV 1921 / S. TOKUNAGA”; 1 Ƥ, “Namakaban / 10.IX.1924 / T. Shiraki / J. Sonan”; 1 Ƥ “Rikiriki / 20 III 1924 / N. Tokuda”; 1 Ƥ, “Sozan / 24.9.1926 / Col. J. Sonan”; 1 Ƥ “Sozan / 27.x.1926 / Col. J. Sonan”; 1 3, “Sozan / 19.x.1922 / N. Takeda”; 1 Ƥ, “Taihoku / 17 VIII 1925 / Col. J. Sonan” and “ Polistes / formosana Sonan / DET. J. Sonan”; 5 Ƥ, 1 3, “Taihoku / 16 VII 1925 / Col. J. Sonan”; 1 Ƥ, “Taihoku / 14 VII 1925 / Col. J. Sonan”; 1 Ƥ, “ IX.1912 / Taihoku / Col. I. Nitobe” and “3155”.

Sonan (1938) downgraded his Polistes formosanus to a variant of P. japonicus de Saussure, 1858, and listed 25 Ƥ and 4 3 (all in the Deutsches Entomologisches Institut) from Horisha, Kankau, Kosempo, Taihorin, Takao and Paroe (in Taito Prefecture). At the same time, Sonan (1938) proposed “ Polistes japonicus var. formosanus f. koshunensis ” based on the “ holotype ” Ƥ and 3 Ƥ collected by H. Sauter in Kankau (deposited in the Deutsches Entomologisches Institut, but one “ paratype ” in TARI) and 22 Ƥ from Garanbi, Kankau, Koshun, Kuraru, Kurau, Makazayazaya (in Heito-gun), Taihoku and Urai. The name “ koshunensis ” is unavailable under Article 45.5 of the Code, and thus these specimens have no type status.