Polistes jokahamae Radoszkowski, 1887

Matsunaga, Janis N., Howarth, Francis G. & Kumashiro, Bernarr R., 2019, New State Records and Additions to the Alien Terrestrial Arthropod Fauna in the Hawaiian Islands, Proceedings of the Hawaiian Entomological Society 51 (1), pp. 1-71 : 14

Polistes jokahamae Radoszkowski

Previous misidentification & Synonym

According to Carpenter (2008) Polistes macaensis (Fabricius) ,

now considered a synonym of P. olivaceus (De Geer) , was recorded from Hawaii in the 1800s. However, a review by Carpenter showed that P. macaensis was a misidentification for P. jokahamae Radoszkowski. In addition, P. jadwigae Dall Torre as listed by Nishida 2002 is a synonym of P. jokahamae . J.M. Carpenter reviewed HDOA’s collection of Vespinae specimens and the misidentification of Polistes jokahamae under P. olivaceus . Adults of P. jokahamae correctly identified by Carpenter were collected on Oahu as far back as 1905, and on Hawaii island in 1988. This paper wasp is native from India to Japan and has been introduced to many Pacific islands by commerce. Vouchers at HDOA.