Polistes snelleni
| Polistes snelleni | |
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| Scientific classification | |
| Kingdom: | Animalia |
| Phylum: | Arthropoda |
| Class: | Insecta |
| Order: | Hymenoptera |
| Family: | Vespidae |
| Subfamily: | Polistinae |
| Tribe: | Polistini |
| Genus: | Polistes |
| Species: | P. snelleni |
| Binomial name | |
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Polistes snelleni (de Saussure, 1862) |
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| Synonyms | |
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Polistes snelleni, the Japanese paper wasp, is a common social wasp species in central and northern Japan.P. snelleni is also found in northern China, Korea, and the Russian Far East. Due to the different climates in these regions, P. snelleni is able to adapt to different temperatures and climatic conditions.P. snelleni is typically found in hilly or submontane areas, so they are classified in the semi-highland category.
P. snelleni is in the genus Polistes, with the subgenus Polistella, a paraphyletic subgenus. P. snelleni is most closely related to Polistes stigma bernadii. It is also closely related to Polistes japonicus.P. snelleni has been studied alongside Polistes chinensis, and Polistes biglumis for comparison in worker-worker conflict, which are two other paper wasps.
P. snelleni are black and yellow wasps. The queens are the biggest of the species, and the workers, young queens, and males follow. Workers typically have worn wings that distinguish them from young queens. The weight of new reproductive females (young queens) is 102 mg. Workers can be identified by white-creamy body fat. Workers that have developed ovaries are workers, but not reproductive females.
The nests created by P. snelleni are made vertically. They typically consist of a single comb. The comb is fan-shaped and the pedicel is attached to the basal cell. This set up allows new cells to be added distally. The founding queen uses twigs or the surface of rock overhangs as horizontal supports for the nest. The nest petioles (stem) are perpendicular to these supports. These wasps occupy a vertical zone of 200–400 meters.
P. snelleni are typically found in Japan, and sometimes in China or Korea. They prefer grassy or bushy places in temperate areas. Their nests are typically found on south facing slopes in areas filled with small trees and short weeds. These nests are hung from small trees, oftentimes larch trees, and usually hang at about 20–60 cm above the ground. They also nest in roadsides and rocky cliffs, in the spaces under overhangs. The temperature in these sites rises in the daytime because the rocks absorb heat from the sun.
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Wikipedia