''Mischocyttarus'' is a very large, primarily

Neotropical The Neotropical realm is one of the eight biogeographic realms constituting Earth's land surface. Physically, it includes the tropical terrestrial ecoregions of the Americas and the entire South American temperate zone. Definition In biogeogra ...

genus of

social Social organisms, including human(s), live collectively in interacting populations. This interaction is considered social whether they are aware of it or not, and whether the exchange is voluntary or not. Etymology The word "social" derives fro ...

wasps with a few species found also in the

Nearctic The Nearctic realm is one of the eight biogeographic realms constituting the Earth's land surface. The Nearctic realm covers most of North America, including Greenland, Central Florida, and the highlands of Mexico. The parts of North America ...

region. It is the only member of the

tribe The term tribe is used in many different contexts to refer to a category of human social group. The predominant worldwide use of the term in English is in the discipline of anthropology. The definition is contested, in part due to conflict ...

Mischocyttarini;Checklist of the Polistine Tribe Mischocyttarini
/ref> the asymmetrical tarsal lobes of ''Mischocyttarus'' separates it from the tribe

Epiponini The Epiponini (formerly known as Polybiini) are a large and diverse tribe of social wasps inhabiting the Neotropical region, with some species' ranges extending into the Nearctic The Nearctic realm is one of the eight biogeographic realms ...

. ''Mischocyttarus'' is the largest genus of social wasps, containing over 200 species and subspecies. ''Mischocyttarus'' wasps build a relatively simple, single comb nest. Sometimes, the nest is built within a meter of the nest of ''

Polistes carnifex ''Polistes carnifex'', commonly known as the executioner wasp or executioner paper wasp, is a neotropical vespid wasp in the cosmopolitan genus '' Polistes''. It is a very large yellow and brown paper wasp with a mandible that contains teeth ...

''. Foraging adults bring

nectar Nectar is a viscous, sugar-rich liquid produced by Plant, plants in glands called nectaries, either within the flowers with which it attracts pollination, pollinating animals, or by extrafloral nectaries, which provide a nutrient source to an ...

and small

caterpillar Caterpillars ( ) are the larval stage of members of the order Lepidoptera (the insect order comprising butterflies and moths). As with most common names, the application of the word is arbitrary, since the larvae of sawflies (suborder ...

s back to the nest to feed to the developing larvae which are individually housed in separate cells in the nest. Not all nests have a female with developed ovaries. Their biology is similar to that of species in the genus ''

Polistes ''Polistes'' is a cosmopolitan genus of paper wasps and the only genus in the tribe Polistini. Vernacular names for the genus include umbrella wasps, coined by Walter Ebeling in 1975 to distinguish it from other types of paper wasp, in refer ...

''. However, ''Mischocyttarus'' appear to show considerably more social and reproductive flexibility than ''Polistes''. Paper wasps-huddling

Species

Source: * '' Mischocyttarus achagua'' Silveira, 2013 * '' Mischocyttarus acreanus'' Silveira, 2006 * '' Mischocyttarus acunai'' Alayo 1972 * ''

Mischocyttarus adjectus ''Mischocyttarus'' is a very large, primarily Neotropical genus of Eusociality, social wasps with a few species found also in the Nearctic region. It is the only member of the tribe (biology), tribe Mischocyttarini; the asymmetrical Arthropod leg ...

'' Zikan, 1935 * ''

Mischocyttarus adolphi ''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 ...

'' Zikan, 1949 * '' Mischocyttarus alboniger'' Richards, 1978 * '' Mischocyttarus alfkenii'' (Ducke, 1904) * '' Mischocyttarus alienus'' Richards 1978 * ''

Mischocyttarus alternatus ''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 ...

'' Zikan, 1949 * ''

Mischocyttarus anchicaya ''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 ...

'' Silveira, 2015 * ''

Mischocyttarus angulatus ''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 ...

'' Richards 1945 * ''

Mischocyttarus annulatus ''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 ...

'' Richards, 1978 * ''

Mischocyttarus anthracinus ''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 ...

'' Richards, 1945 * ''

Mischocyttarus arawak ''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 ...

'' Silveira, 2013 * ''

Mischocyttarus aripuanaensis ''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 ...

'' Silveira, 1998 * ''

Mischocyttarus artifex ''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 ...

'' (Ducke, 1914) * ''

Mischocyttarus awa ''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 ...

'' Silveira, 2013 * ''

Mischocyttarus baconi ''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 ...

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-sized ...

Mischocyttarus flavitarsis ''Mischocyttarus flavitarsis'' is a social paper wasp found in western North America. Their nests can be found both in forests close to rivers or in close proximity to human life under the eaves of roofs. Despite the fact that ''M. flavitarsis '' ...

References

{{Authority control Vespidae