Polistes exclamans

Polistes exclamans
Scientific classification Edit this classification
Domain: Eukaryota
Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Arthropoda
Class: Insecta
Order: Hymenoptera
Family: Vespidae
Subfamily: Polistinae
Tribe: Polistini
Genus: Polistes
Species:
P. exclamans
Binomial name
Polistes exclamans
Viereck, 1906
Synonyms[1]
  • Polistes instabilis coahuilae Richards, 1978
  • Polistes exclamans durangoensis Snelling, 1955

Polistes exclamans, the Guinea paper wasp, is a social wasp and is part of the family Vespidae of the order Hymenoptera.[2] It has been found in Ontario, Canada and the eastern United States from Illinois down south to Florida and west to Nebraska and California. It is also found in Mexico from Chihuahua to Jalisco, Hidalgo.[3] P. exclamans has shown variability in its range including an absence of the species in eastern Missouri from the 1920’s to 1940’s, a presence in the 1960’s to 1980’s, and an apparent absence again of the species in these same sites in eastern Missouri since 1989. This suggests that their range has either expanded northward and contracted southward or that they have large, long-term cycles of abundance.[4] P. exclamans has three specific castes, including males, workers, and queens, but the dominance hierarchy is further distinguished by age. The older the wasp is, the higher it is in ranking within the colony.[5] In most P. exclamans nests, there is one queen who lays all the eggs in the colony. The physiological similarities between the worker and queen castes have led to experiments attempting to distinguish the characteristics of these two castes and how they are determined, though males have easily identifiable physiological characteristics. Since P. exclamans live in relatively small, open combed nests, they are often subject to predators and parasites, such as Chalcoela iphitalis, Elasmus polistis, and birds. P. exclamans have defense and recognition strategies that help protect against these predators and parasites.

  1. ^ Cite error: The named reference Carpenter was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  2. ^ Seppa, Queller and Strassmann (1892). "Reproduction in foundress associations of the social wasp, Polistes carolina: conventions, competition, and skew". Behavioral Ecology. 13 (1): 531–542. doi:10.1093/beheco/13.4.531.
  3. ^ Buck, Matthias; Marshall, Stephen A.; Cheung, David K. B. (February 2008). "Identification Atlas of the Vespidae (Hymenoptera, Aculeata) of the northeastern Nearctic". Canadian Journal of Arthropod Identification. 5: 313–314. doi:10.3752/cjai.2008.05.
  4. ^ West, Mary Jane (January 1968). "Range Extension and Solitary Nest Founding in Polistes Exclamans (Hymenoptera: Vespidae)". Psyche: A Journal of Entomology. 75 (2): 118–123. doi:10.1155/1968/49846. ISSN 0033-2615.{{cite journal}}: CS1 maint: unflagged free DOI (link)
  5. ^ Strassmann, J. E. (1985). "Worker mortality and the evolution of castes in the social wasp, Polistes exclamans". Insectes Sociaux. 32 (3): 275–285. doi:10.1007/BF02224916. S2CID 27099717.