Polistes (Polistella) dawnae Dover & Rao 1922

Nguyen, Lien Thi Phuong, Kojima, Jun-Ichi & Saito, Fuki, 2011, Polistes (Polistella) wasps (Hymenoptera: Vespidae: Polistinae) from mountainous areas of northern Vietnam, with description of five new species, Zootaxa 3060, pp. 1-30 : 3-6

Polistes (Polistella) dawnae Dover & Rao 1922

(Figs 1–13, 85)

Polistes dawnae Dover & Rao 1922: 248 , Ƥ, holotype Dawna Hills [16°50'N, 98°15'E], Burma [ Myanmar], [Zoological Survey of India, Kolikata].

Polistes dawnae was described by Dover & Rao (1922) based on a single female specimen (holotype) from Dawna Hills [16°50'N, 98°15'E], Burma [ Myanmar], which is housed in the Zoological Survey of India, Kolikata. Das and Gupta (1989) gave a detailed description of the characters of the holotype, and no further information on this species has been added since then. The male and a nest of this species are herewith described.

The female specimens we examined well agreed well with the description by Das and Gupta (1989). One of the seven females collected at the Muong Nhe NP Station was the only adult found on the nest described here. The nest was made in a cut bamboo and had no immatures in it. The other six females and a male were collected in flight near the nest site and may have emerged from the nest. As described below, the male is similar to the female both in structure and coloration except for some characters.

Material examined. 1 Ƥ ( NSM), Thung Man Pass, Phong Tho, Lai Chau, alt. 1200 m, 9.V.1995, A. Shinohara; 7 Ƥ, 1 3 ( IEBR, IUNH), Muong Nhe NP Station, Dien Bien, 22°18.5'N, 102°24'E, 23.VII.2009, LN, HP & JK; 1 3 ( IEBR), Pa Co, Mai Chau, Hoa Binh, alt. 1000 m, 23.VIII.2005, LN & JK.

Description. MALE [female characters in square brackets]. Body length about 10 mm [10.5–11 mm]; fore wing length about 10 mm [10.5–11 mm].

FIGURES 1–13. Polistes (Polistella) dawnae . 1–5. Ƥ. 6–13. 3. 1, 3, 6–7. Head. 1, 6. Frontal view. 3, 7. Lateral view. 2. Ocelli, eye and posterior margin of vertex. 4, 8. Right antenna. 5. Metasomal segments 1 and 2, lateral view. 9–10. Terminal sterna. 9. Ventral view. 10. Apical part, lateral view. 11. Inner aspect of paramere with digitus and volsella. 12– 13. Aedeagus. 12. Ventral view. 13. Lateral view. Scale 1 mm.

Head in frontal view (Fig. 6) about 1.4 × [about 1.2 × (Fig. 1)] as wide as high. Vertex slightly raised in area among ocelli; POD:OOD=1:1.5 [1:1.9 (Fig. 2)]; POD about 1.7 × [about 1.6 ×] Od. Eye much more strongly swollen laterally than in female; inner eye margins about 1.4 × [about 1.1 ×] further apart from each other at vertex than at clypeus. Gena narrow [more or less wide], in lateral view (Fig. 7) about 0.3 × [about 0.8 × (Fig. 3)] as wide as eye; weakly raised blunt ridge present, running along posterior margin of eye [absent]. Clypeus in frontal view (Fig. 6) about as wide as high, apical margin slightly produced, broadly rounded [pointed apically (Fig. 1)]; in lateral view (Fig. 7) slightly convex dorsally, slightly concave ventrally [weakly swollen anteriorly in dorsal half (Fig. 3)]; surface covered with dense short golden hairs [upper half of clypeus covered with fine pale pubescence and lower half with scattered deep large punctures each bearing sharply pointed golden bristle]. Antenna (Fig. 8) with slenderer flagellum than in female (Fig. 4); scape short and thick, about 2.8 × [about 3.0 ×] as long as its maximum width; flagellomere 1 as long as [slightly longer than] length of flagellomeres 2 and 3 combined; flagellomeres 2 and 3 each longer than wide [as long as wide]; terminal flagellomere slightly curved [bullet shaped], about 2.5 × longer than [as long as] its basal width.

Mesosoma as in female. Pronotal carina sharply raised, produced into thin lamella in dorsal part, slightly sinuate on lateral sides, reaching ventral corner of pronotum. Mesoscutum weakly convex, about as long as wide between tegulae; anterior margin broadly rounded. Disc of scutellum flat, in profile at the same level as mesoscutum. Metanotum weakly convex, strongly depressed along anterior margin. Propodeum short; posterior face widely (about half the maximum width of propodeum) and shallowly excavated medially, more or less smoothly passing into lateral faces; propodeal orifice elongate, about 1.8 × as long as wide (measured at widest part), somewhat narrowed in dorsal half. Jugal lobe of hind wing large, rounded.

Metasoma except terminal two segments as in female (Fig. 5). Tergum 1 distinctly shorter than its apical width, in lateral view abruptly swollen dorsally just behind basal slit for reception of propodeal suspensory ligament; corner between anterior and dorsal faces bluntly angled. Sternum 2 in lateral view strongly swollen ventrally in anterior one-third, then ventral margin bluntly angled into nearly straight line parallel to ventral margin of the tergum. Metasomal sternum 7 depressed medially, without tubercle (Figs 9, 10).

Body surface sculpture as in female, except for densely-haired clypeus. Mandible with scattered shallow punctures. Frons and vertex up to level of posterior ocelli with close fine punctures. Vertex behind posterior ocelli and gena with sparse fine punctures; spaces between punctures smooth; punctures in ventral one third of gena scaratted and deep. Pronotum with dense deep punctures; spaces between punctures very narrow, slightly raised to form reticulation. Mesoscutum with scattered deep flat-bottomed punctures and dense fine punctures between flat-bottomed punctures. Scutellum and metanotum with scattered deep punctures. Mesepisternum with coarse dense welldefined punctures in posterodorsal part; punctures in dorsal margin similar to those on pronotum. Dorsal metapleuron with week striation; ventral metapleuron with shallow large punctures. Propodeum with distinct transverse striation and punctures between striae on lateral faces; interpuncture spaces weakly raised to interconnect striae. Metasomal segements densely covered with minute punctures in addition to scattered small punctures (ill-defined on terga; more or less well-defined on sterna).

Color. Similar to female [body black, with following yellow markings: large apical spot on clypeus, narrow band along inner eye margin extending from bottom of frons to middle of eye emargination, narrow short band on gena along posterodorsal margin of eye, narrow band along pronotal carina, paired anterolateral spots on metanotum, scrobal spot on mesepisternum, paired large lateral spots on propodeum, propodeal valvula, metasomal tergum 1 except for basal triangular dark-brown spot, and apical margin of tergum 4; legs black], but more extensively marked with yellow as follows: clypeus entirely, mandible except for small basal black spot, ventral half of frons, narrow long band on gene along posterior margin of eye, antennal scape beneath, paired anterolateral spots (sometimes united to form narrow transverse band) on metanotum, spot on propodeal valvula, ventral face of fore coxa and spot on mid-coxa; antennal flagellum reddish brown to dark yellow beneath; paired lateral yellow spots on propodeum much reduced in size.

Male genitalia. Lamina volsellaris desclerotized and fused with cuspis. Digitus in inner aspect of paramere (Fig. 11) slightly more than 3.5 × as long as wide (measured at widest part). Aedeagus (Figs 12–13): penis valve slightly longer than basal apodeme, in ventral view swollen laterally in proximal one fourth and distinctly produced laterally near proximal margin, in lateral view slightly thickened in proximal one fourth and with dorsal margin weakly and smoothly sinuate, with proxomoventral corner produced into small tooth (Fig. 13); ventral margin of penis valve finely serrated along entire length.

Nest. A nest (Nest# 2009-DB-P-01) collected in Muong Nhe, Dien Bien on 21 July 2009 was examined ( Table 1 ). As mentioned above, the nest was collected, together with a single female, from the inside of a cut bamboo used for the wall of the kitchen at the Muong Nhe NP Station.

The nest characters other than the nesting site are as follows. Single combed ( Fig. 85 ); comb vertically elongate to fit the space inside the bamboo, about 170 mm long and about 20 mm wide, tough paper-like in texture, uniformly grayish brown. Four nest petioles present (indicated by arrows in Fig. 85 ); primary petiole (lost while collecting the nest) situated near mid-length of comb, first two cells having been constructed on its tip; other three petioles subsidiary, constructed to connect bottom of preexisting cell and substrate, made exclusively with adult salivary secretion, dark brown and lustrous; one of the subsidiary petioles situated about 34 mm lower from the primary petiole, 4.6 mm long and 0.96 × 1.4 mm thick; remaining petioles respectively about 49 mm and 57 mm above the primary petiole, and 4.7mm long and 0.94 × 1.6 mm thick, and 4.2 mm long and 0.43 × 1.1 mm thick. Cells generally arranged in regular rows, hexagonal at open end, but partly irregularly arranged, where some cells are pentagonal; outer free margins of peripheral cells rounded; cell gradually expanded towards open end, 3.2 mm (range 2.9–3.6; n=10) wide at bottom and 4.2 mm (range 4.0– 4.5 mm; n=10) wide at open end, 11.8 mm (range 10.9–12.1 mm; n=10) deep; cell wall about 0.02 mm thick; cocoon cap slightly domed beyond level of cell opening, pale gray.

Distribution. Northern Myanmar; Northwestern Vietnam.

Figures

FIGURES 85 – 88. Nests of Polistes species of subgenus Polistella occurring in northern Vietnam. 85. P. dawnae (Nest # 2009 - DB-P- 01). The thick and thin arrows indicate the position of the primary petiole and the subsidiary petioles, respectively. 86. P. l e p c h a (Nest # VN-P- 2006 - 3). 87. P. reliciniclypeus sp. nov. (Nest # VN-P- 2006 - 13). 88. P. gilvus sp. nov. (Nest # 2008 - SL-P- 1).

Tables

TABLE 1. Biological data of examined nests of Polistes species from subgenus Polistella.

Species and nest code	Substrate	Date of collection	Height from ground (m)	cells	Number of Number of adults collected eggs larvae pupae empty female male cells
Polistes lepcha
VN-P-2006-3	Rock	20.VIII.2006	1.3	229	29 32 41 127 13 0
VN-P-2006-7	Rock	22.VIII.2006	4.0	390	62 53 15 260 38 17
VN-P-2006-9	Rock	22.VIII.2006	1.6	161	29 25 19 88 11 0
Polistes dawnae
2009-DB-P-01 Polistes reliciniclypeus	Inside cut bamboo	21.VII. 2009	1.3	247	0 0 0 247 1 0
VN-P-2006-4 VN-P-2006-10 VN-P-2006-11 VN-P-2006-12 VN-P-2006-13 2008-LC-P-02 2008-LC-P-03 2008-HB-P-03 2009-Sapa-P-01 Polistes gilvus 2008 -SL-P-1	Palm leaf Rock Rock Rock Rock unrecorded unrecorded unrecorded Rock Shrub branch	21.VIII.2006 22.VIII.2006 22.VIII.2006 22.VIII.2006 22.VIII.2006 25.VI.2008 26.VI.2008 11.VI.2008 5.VII.2009 7.VI.2008	0.5 - - - - - - - - 1.2	287 245 107 68 580 55 19 63 53 126	5 14 0 268 3 2 0 44 32 169 0 14 22 34 15 36 3 3 2 20 3 43 3 57 13 55 455 15 15 0 0 0 55 4 0 0 0 0 19 2 0 0 0 0 63 5 0 0 19 0 34 6 0 0 0 2 124 7 0