Center for Systematic Entomology, Gainesville, Florida
Date of this Version
10-15-2010
Abstract
Polistes dominula (Christ, 1791) (Fig. 1) is a Palearctic paper wasp that was discovered in eastern North America near Boston, Massachusetts in the late 1970s (Hathaway 1981). This species has spread westward into various Canadian provinces and several states within the U.S. (see Cervo et al. 2000; Hoebeke and Wheeler 2005; Liebert et al. 2006; Buck et al. 2008 and references therein). The range of P. dominula has expanded westward to at least the Minneapolis-St. Paul metropolitan area in eastern Minnesota (Liebert et al. 2006). A second distinct front of P. dominula originated along the Pacific coast of North America (Landolt and Antonelli 1999; Borkent and Cannings 2004) and has extended into the western interior of the U.S. (Buck et al. 2008; Liebert et al. 2006). Polistes dominula has a proclivity for nesting in and around human shelters, and in cavities provided by items such as farm implements, machinery, trailers, and recreational equipment (Silagi et al. 2003). Thus, P. dominula is likely to follow patterns of human habitation and activity, and to continue to expand its range in North America (Cervo et al. 2000; Silagi et al. 2003). In this paper, I document the first record of the adventive Palearctic P. dominula nesting in South Dakota.
Comments
Insecta Mundi 0145: 1-3, Published in 2010 by Center for Systematic Entomology, Inc. P. O. Box 141874 Gainesville, FL 32614-1874 U. S. A., http://www.centerforsystematicentomology.org/