The Polistinae is a

subfamily In biological classification, a subfamily (Latin: ', plural ') is an auxiliary (intermediate) taxonomic rank, next below family but more inclusive than genus Genus ( plural genera ) is a taxonomic rank used in the biological classifica ...

eusocial Eusociality (from Greek εὖ ''eu'' "good" and social), the highest level of organization of sociality, is defined by the following characteristics: cooperative brood care (including care of offspring from other individuals), overlapping gen ...

wasp A wasp is any insect of the narrow-waisted suborder Apocrita of the order Hymenoptera which is neither a bee nor an ant; this excludes the broad-waisted sawflies (Symphyta), which look somewhat like wasps, but are in a separate suborder ...

s belonging to the

family Family (from la, familia) is a group of people related either by consanguinity (by recognized birth) or affinity (by marriage or other relationship). The purpose of the family is to maintain the well-being of its members and of society. Idea ...

Vespidae. They are closely related to the more familiar wasps (“ yellowjackets” as they are called in North America) and true

hornets Hornets (insects in the genus ''Vespa'') are the largest of the eusocial wasps, and are similar in appearance to their close relatives yellowjackets. Some species can reach up to in length. They are distinguished from other vespine wasps by ...

of the subfamily Vespinae, containing four tribes. With about 1,100 species total, it is the second-most diverse subfamily within the Vespidae, and while most species are tropical or subtropical, they include some of the most frequently encountered large wasps in temperate regions. The Polistinae are also known as paper wasps, which is a misleading term, since other wasps (including the wasps in the subfamily Vespinae) also build nests out of paper, and because some epiponine wasps (e.g., ''

Polybia emaciata ''Polybia emaciata '' is a Neotropical swarm founding wasp that is mainly found in South America. This eusocial species has a unique colony structure in which multiple queens are present. Workers and queens are not morphologically distinct, but t ...

'') build theirs out of mud, nonetheless, the name "paper wasp" seems to apply mostly, but not exclusively, to the Polistinae, especially the Polistini. Many polistines, such as ''

Polistes fuscatus ''Polistes fuscatus'', whose common name is the dark or northern paper wasp, is widely found in eastern North America, from southern Canada through the southern United States. It often nests around human development. However, it greatly prefers ...

,'' '' Polistes annularis'', and ''

Polistes exclamans ''Polistes exclamans'', the Guinea paper wasp, is a social wasp and is part of the family Vespidae of the order Hymenoptera. It is found throughout the United States, Mexico, the Bahamas, Jamaica and parts of Canada. Due to solitary nest foundin ...

'', make their nests out of paper. '' Polistes annularis'' suspends its paper nests from cliff overhangs via a pedicel, whose free fatty acids induce the necrophobic response in ants and causes them to avoid the pedicel rather than cross and prey on the nest’s inhabitants. '' Polistes metricus'' foragers take off from their nests as if they already know how long their trip is. For short flights, they exit the nest flying horizontally, while for long flights they exit the nest flying straight up into a high altitude before pursuing their direction. Polistine brood cells are arranged in a hexagonal array, similar to the comb structure in a

honey bee A honey bee (also spelled honeybee) is a eusocial flying insect within the genus ''Apis'' of the bee clade, all native to Afro-Eurasia. After bees spread naturally throughout Africa and Eurasia, humans became responsible for the current cosm ...

nest. Some species of the epiponine genera '' Polybia'' and '' Brachygastra'' store

honey Honey is a sweet and viscous substance made by several bees, the best-known of which are honey bees. Honey is made and stored to nourish bee colonies. Bees produce honey by gathering and then refining the sugary secretions of plants (primar ...

in the comb, among the few insects other than bees to store honey (also some

ants Ants are Eusociality, eusocial insects of the Family (biology), family Formicidae and, along with the related wasps and bees, belong to the Taxonomy (biology), order Hymenoptera. Ants evolved from Vespoidea, vespoid wasp ancestors in the Creta ...

store honey in their bodies). Polistes africanus

Characteristics

Characteristics of the Polistinae are: * The queens (reproductive females) are morphologically similar to workers, though sometimes slightly larger or differently colored. * The abdomen is spindle-shaped, often petiolate. * The antennae of males are curled. * The nest is sometimes open (the nests of vespines are always enclosed in several layers of paper).

Colony life cycle

Polistine wasps found colonies in one of two ways. In some species, nests are founded by a small number of reproductive females, possibly a single one. One of the foundresses eventually acquires dominance over the other and is the sole reproducer. The nest is open (not enclosed by an envelope) and contains a single comb. In the other group, called "swarm-founding", the nest is founded by a large number of workers and a few queens. It is usually protected by an envelope, like a vespine nest.

Selected species of Polistinae

Tribe Polistini * Genus ''

Polistes Wasps of the cosmopolitan genus ''Polistes'' (the only genus in the tribe Polistini) are the most familiar of the polistine wasps, and are the most common type of paper wasp in North America. Walter Ebeling coined the vernacular name "umbrella ...

'' ** '' P. adelphus'' ** '' P. annularis'' ** '' P. atrimandibularis'' ** '' P. bellicosus'' ** '' P. biglumis'' ** '' P. bischoffi'' ** '' P. carolina'' - red paper wasp ** '' P. chinensis'' - Chinese paper wasp ** '' P. dominula'' - European paper wasp ** '' P. fuscatus'' - northern paper wasp ** '' P. humilis'' - common paper wasp ** '' P. instabilis'' ** '' P. japonicus'' ** '' P. metricus'' - Metric paper wasp ** '' P. semenowi'' ** '' P. sulcifer'' ** '' P. tepidus'' Tribe

Mischocyttarini ''Mischocyttarus'' is a very large, primarily Neotropical genus of social wasps with a few species found also in the Nearctic region. It is the only member of the tribe Mischocyttarini; the asymmetrical tarsal lobes of ''Mischocyttarus'' separat ...

* Genus ''

Mischocyttarus ''Mischocyttarus'' is a very large, primarily Neotropical genus of social wasps with a few species found also in the Nearctic region. It is the only member of the tribe Mischocyttarini; the asymmetrical tarsal lobes of ''Mischocyttarus'' separa ...

'' ** '' M. collarellus'' ** '' M. flavitarsis'' ** '' M. labiatus'' ** ''

Mischocyttarus drewseni ''Mischocyttarus drewseni'', which is sometimes spelled "drewsenii", is a social wasp in the family Vespidae. It is commonly found in Neotropical regions of South America, including Brazil, Peru, Venezuela, Colombia and Paraguay. This mid-siz ...

Tribe Epiponini * Genus '' Agelaia'' ** '' A. multipicta'' * Genus ''

Apoica ''Apoica'' is a genus of eusocial paper wasps found throughout the Central and South American tropics. These wasps are truly nocturnal, carrying out their foraging activities after the setting of the sun. They prefer to construct their nests, ...

'' ** '' A. pallens'' ** '' A. pallida'' * Genus '' Brachygastra'' **'' B. lecheguana'' **'' B. mellifica'' * Genus'' Leipomeles'' ** '' L. dorsata'' *Genus ''

Parachartergus ''Parachartergus'' is a genus of epiponine social wasps belonging to the subfamily Polistinae. Species include: *'' Parachartergus amazonensis'' *''Parachartergus apicalis'' - known to form mutualistic relationships with treehoppers. The male g ...

'' **'' P. colobopterus'' * Genus '' Polybia'' ** '' P. dimidiata'' ** '' P. emaciata'' ** '' P. occidentalis'' ** '' P. scutellaris'' ** '' P. sericea'' * Genus '' Synoeca'' ** '' S. chalibea'' (often misspelled as ''chalybea'') ** '' S. cyanea'' ** '' S. septentrionalis'' ** '' S. surinama'' ** '' S. virginea'' Tribe

Ropalidiini Ropalidiini is a tribe of social wasps inhabiting the Afrotropical, Indomalayan and Australasian biogeographical regions. Genera and selected species *'' Belonogaster'' **''Belonogaster juncea ''Belonogaster juncea'' is a typical quasisoc ...

* Genus '' Ropalidia'' ** '' R. marginata'' ** '' R. revolutionalis'' ** '' R. romandi''

References

External links

Social Behavior of Polistine WaspsArticle on Australian Paper WaspsNest defence behavior in two species of ''Polybia''Ropalidia marginata a primitive eusocial wasp
{{Authority control Vespidae