Abstract
We combine multivariate ratio analysis (MRA) of body measurements and analyses of mitochondrial and nuclear data to examine the status of several species of European paper wasps (Polistes Latreille, 1802) closely related to P. gallicus. Our analyses unambiguously reveal the presence of a cryptic species in Europe, as two distinct species can be recognized in what has hitherto been considered Polistes bischoffi Weyrauch, 1937. One species is almost as light coloured as P. gallicus, and is mainly recorded from Southern Europe and Western Asia. The other species is darker and has a more northern distribution in Central Europe. Both species occur syntopically in Switzerland. Given that the lost lectotype of P. bischoffi originated from Sardinia, we selected a female of the southern species as a neotype. The northern species is described as P. helveticus sp. n. here. We also provide a redescription of P. bischoffi rev. stat. and an identification key including three more closely related species, P. biglumis, P. gallicus and P. hellenicus.
Highlights
The paper wasp genus Polistes Latreille, 1802 (Hymenoptera, Vespidae, Polistinae) is an important model group for behavioral and evolutionary studies
Our analyses lead to the recognition of two distinct species within what has been hitherto referred to as P. bischoffi; we review the information on the type material of bischoffi, and designate a neotype to settle the status of this species
For the molecular and morphometric analyses we focus on the status of the two closely related morphs hitherto comprised under Polistes bischoffi, as well as on the morphologically similar Polistes gallicus, and on their separation from other European Polistes
Summary
The paper wasp genus Polistes Latreille, 1802 (Hymenoptera, Vespidae, Polistinae) is an important model group for behavioral and evolutionary studies. It includes a large number of eusocial species that exhibit varied forms of social organization (West-Eberhard 1969). Namely P. atrimandibularis Zimmermann, 1930, P. semenowi Morawitz, 1889, and P. sulcifer Zimmermann, 1930, are social parasites (Cervo 2006, and references therein) and were considered as members of a distinct genus (or subgenus) Sulcopolistes Blüthgen, 1938 (Blüthgen 1961, Guiglia 1972), until Carpenter (1990) synonymized Sulcopolistes with Polistes. Phylogenetic analyses of one mitochondrial gene fragment showed that the three socially parasitic species formed a monophyletic group nested within other European Polistes (Choudhary et al 1994: 33); the three social parasites constituted a monophyletic clade sister to a clade consisting of P. dominula (Christ, 1791) and P. nimpha (Christ, 1791)
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