Polistes biglumis (Linnaeus)

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 : 83

Polistes biglumis (Linnaeus) Fig. 5

Vespa biglumis Linnaeus, 1758, Systema naturae 1 (Editio decima): 573. Holotype female (LSL, examined by RN), designated by Day (1979), type locality: Europe.

Vespa rupestris Linnaeus, 1758, Systema naturae 1 (Editio decima): 573. Holotype male (LSL, examined by RN), designated by Day (1979), type locality: Sweden.

Vespa bimaculata Geoffroy in Fourcroy, 1785, Entomologia parisiensis, sive catalogus insectorum quae in agro parisiensi reperiuntur, vol. 2: 433. Holotype female (type lost; see Bluthgen 1961: 54), type locality: near Paris, France.

Polistes geoffroyi Lepeletier & Serville, 1825, In: Latreille M (Ed) Encyclopedie Methodique, Histoire Naturelle. Insectes. Vol. 10: 173. Syntypes males, females (MNHN, 1 female and 1 male examined by RN), type locality: France.

Polistes dubia Kohl, 1898, Annalen des kaiserlich-koniglichen Naturhistorischen Hofmuseums, Wien 13: 90 + Taf. III. Lectotype male (NHMW, examined by RN & CvA), designated by Bluthgen (1943: 128), type locality: Bruhl, Austria.

Polistes kohli Dalla Torre, 1904, Vespidae . Genera Insectorum 19: 70. Replacement name for Polistes dubia Kohl, 1898, nec de Saussure, 1867.

Polistes bimaculatus var. arduinoi Guiglia, 1948, Mem. Soc. Entomol. Ital. 27, Fasc. Suppl.: 14 (key), 22. 2 syntype females (MSNG, not examined), type locality: Ponte di Legno, Lombardia (Italy).

Polistes pamirensis Zirngiebl, 1955: Mitt. Munchner Entomol. Ges. 44/45: 381 383. Syntypes 4 females (ZSM, examined by RN), type locality: Umss-Tugai, probably in the area of eastern Uzbekistan to southwestern Tadjikistan.

Polistes pamirensis var. soikai Zirngiebl, 1955, Mitt. Munchner Entomol. Ges. 44/45: 383. Holotype female (ZSM, examined by RN), type locality: Umss-Tugai, probably in the area of eastern Uzbekistan to southwestern Tadjikistan.

Polistes pamirensis var. interruptus Zirngiebl, 1955, Mitt. Munchner Entomol. Ges. 44/45: 383. Holotype female (ZSM, examined by RN), type locality: Umss-Tugai, probably in the area of eastern Uzbekistan to southwestern Tadjikistan.

Polistes bimaculatus var. pamirensis Zirngiebl, 1955: 385, var. status.

Polistes bimaculatus var. nigrinotum Zirngiebl, 1955, Mitt. Munchner Entomol. Ges. 44/45: 385. Holotype female (ZSM, examined by RN), type locality: Althegnenberg, Germany.

Polistes biglumis alpium Bluthgen, 1957, Rev. Fac. Sci. Univ. Istanbul, Ser. B, 22 (3): 163. Holotype female (MFNB, examined by CSE). Type locality: Ulu Dagh [Uludag], Turkey.

Remarks.

See Neumeyer et al. (2014) for detailed comments about taxonomy.

Diagnosis.

The female shares a dark brown to black upper side of antennal segments with P. albellus (see under P. albellus for recognition). The other species of the P. gallicus group have lighter antennal segments (except northern P. foederatus ). The male has broad, convex temples in dorsal view and the clypeal disk without impressions or lateral ridges, similar to that of P. dominula and P. bucharensis .

Distribution.

Europe including Norway and Sweden south of 65° N to Turkey, Central Asia. Guiglia (1972) also mentioned N Africa, Iran and Mongolia, but these records require confirmation. Polistes biglumis occurs up to 2400 m in the European Alps. The presence in Greece is confirmed by a male from Mt. Olympus, eastern slope, 2200-2500 m a.s.l., 20.ix.1989, leg. T. Osten, coll. CSE), removing doubts expressed by Arens (2011).

Specimens examined.

Europe: Austria, Belgium, France, Germany, Greece, Italy, Netherlands, Sweden, Switzerland. Asia: Tajikistan, Turkey, Uzbekistan.

Genetic data.

Polistes biglumis consists of two closely placed subclusters which share the same BIN (Suppl. material 2: NJ tree, and Fig. 58). Specimens from the Aosta valley in NW Italy form a geographic subcluster that is separated from a second subcluster consisting of specimens from NW Italy and SE Germany.