Abstract
Serial sections of the head and its appendages of Polistes annularis (L.) and Vespula maculata (L.) revealed the position of the mandibular gland and its point of exit at the mandibular base. The gland orifice is surrounded by a sphincter muscle and the point of exit is not in the mandible but proximad of the mandibular base at the side of the cibarium. Instead of an association with the lateral mandibular groove for the dispersal of its secretory substance, the mandibular gland probably releases its material from the mesal side of the mandible into or through the preoral cavity. The mandibular groove in these wasps may not be analogous with the grooves in most other aculeate Hymenoptera. Behavioral studies will be important for a complete understanding of the function of both mandibular gland and groove in hymenopterous insects.
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