The
Paper Wasps and Hornets of Florida (Hymenoptera: Vespidae: Polistinae &
Vespinae) By Hugo Kons Jr.
& Rex Rowan
APPENDIX I: Stylopized Florida
Polistinae
Version 2018.1
This
appendix documents stylopization (infection with Strepsiptera parasites) in the
North Florida Polistes Fauna.
Among our collections of Vespidae in northern
Florida, all individuals infected with Stepsiptera parasites (=stylopized) were
Polistinae: Polistes (Fuscopolistes). Species with one or more stylopized specimens
collected include: Polistes bellicosus,
P. carolina species 1, P. carolina species
2, P. metricus phenotype A, Polistes phenotype 2.2, P. fuscatus species 1, P. fuscatus species 2, P. fuscatus species 3, and P. fuscatus species 5. Also, Buck et al. (2002) reported one Florida
specimen of P. hirsuticornis was
parasitized with an enclosed male Strepsiptera pupa. These species include all of the common Polistes (Fuscopolistes) with the notable exception of P. dorsalis. Most specimens
of P. dorsalis are smaller than any
of the stylopized specimens collected; perhaps P. dorsalis is shunned as a host because the North Florida
Strepsiptera fauna is adapted to larger hosts?
Also, no cases of stylopization were found among long series examined of
Polistes (Palisotius) major and Polistes (Aphanilopterus) annularis species
1, exclamans, and louisianus. Other Polistes
species for which we did not document stylopization are uncommon. A summarization of stylopized specimens found
among our collections of North Florida Polistinae from 2013-2015 appears in
Table I1 (below).
Stylopized specimens we collected
typically contained only one or two parasites, with three exceptions among our
material. One male of Polistes metricus had three parasites,
one female of Polistes fuscatus species
2 contained five male pupal casings, and one female of P. fuscatus species 3 contained eight parasites.
The majority of cases of
stylopization were found in P. bellicosus
and the P. fuscatus complex
(Table I1). All these species are
similar in size, although P. fuscatus species
5 females average smaller than the others.
The largest stylopized specimens collected are P. metricus, P. carolina species 1, and P. carolina species 2.
Stylopized specimens were
preferentially processed when going through alcohol collections, so we are
unable to provide precise ratios for stylopized individuals for any
species. However, it is clear that the
sizeable majority of specimens we encountered in the field were not
stylopized-less than one in fifty for all species except for Polistes fuscatus species 3 and P. fuscatus species 1.
Strepsipteran parasites are usually
located between metasomal terga, and most often limited to the three
posterior-most terga. Between terga 6
and 7 is the most common location of Strepsiptera parasites in females, whereas
too few stylopized males were collected to make any gender specific generalizations
for males. We only collected two specimens (both females) with Strepsiptera
between the sterna: Polistes fuscatus species
3 vouchers HLKHYM: 368 and 684. The
latter contained eight parasites, five between terga and three under
sterna. This specimen is also unique in
having a Strepsiptera parasite under the posterior most sternum (no specimens
were collected with a Strepsiptera parasite under the posterior most
tergum). The unusual number of
individual Strepsiptera parasitizing this specimen may have resulted in some
individuals lodging in suboptimal positions not normally selected by these
parasites. However, the other specimen
with a Strepsiptera parasite between sterna contained only a single parasite.
We did not rear any adult male
specimens of Stepsiptera with our north Florida Polistes study, and have only the parasites or pupal casings still
attached to the Polistes specimens. Buck et al. (2012) note that Xenos (Stylopidae) is known to
parasitize several Polistes species
sympatric with P. hirsuticornis in
the eastern United States.
The following series of photos document
the stylopization of the species and specimens in Table I1 (above), following
the same order. Red arrows point to
Strepsiptera parasites or pupal casings.
Polistes
bellicosus
(HLKHYM: 288; Female)
Figure I1: Polistes
bellicosus female with a male Strepsiptera pupal casing between terga 5 and
6.
(HLKHYM: 121; Female)
Figure I2: Polistes
bellicosus female with two Strepsiptera parasites, one between terga 4 and
5 and one between terga 5 and 6.
(HLKHYM: 156; Male)
Figure I3: Polistes
bellicosus male with one Strepsiptera parasite between terga 6 and 7.
Polistes
carolina species 1
(HLKHYM: 547; female)
Figure I4: Polistes
carolina species 1 with one Strepsiptera parasite between terga 4 and 5.
Polistes
carolina species 2
(HLKHYM: 529; female)
Figure I5: Polistes
carolina species 2 with two Strepsiptera parasites between terga 6 and 7.
Polistes
metricus Phenotype A
(HLKHYM: 654; male)
Figure I6: Polistes
metricus phenotype A male with two Strepsiptera parasites between terga 6
and 7 and one between terga 4 and 5 (not visible on the left side of the
metasoma).
Polistes
Phenotype 2.2 (HLKHYM:367; Male)
Figure I7: Polistes
phenotype 2.2 with one Strepsiptera parasite between terga 6 and 7.
Polistes
fuscatus species 1
(HLKHYM: 363; Female)
Figure I8: Polistes
fuscatus species 1 female with one Strepsiptera parasite between terga 6
and 7.
(HLKHYM: 260; Female)
Figure I9: Polistes
fuscatus species 1 female with one Strepsiptera parasite between terga 6
and 7.
(HLKHYM: 267; Female)
Figure I10: Polistes
fuscatus species 1 female with one Strepsiptera parasite between terga 6
and 7.
(HLKHYM: 269; Female)
Figure I11: Polistes
fuscatus species 1 female with two Strepsiptera parasites between terga 6
and 7.
(HLKHYM:822; Male)
Figure I12: Polistes
fuscatus species 1 male with one Strepsiptera parasite between terga 5 and
6.
Polistes
fuscatus species 2
(HLKHYM: 946; female)
Figure I13: Polistes
fuscatus species 2 female with five male Strepsiptera pupal casings. The pupal casings are located between terga 3
and 4 (1), terga 4 and 5 (2), and terga 5 and 6 (2).
Polistes
fuscatus species 3
(HLKHYM: 254; female)
Figure I14: Polistes
fuscatus species 3 female with one Strepsiptera parasite between terga 6
and 7.
(HLKHYM: 368; Female)
Figure I15: Polistes
fuscatus species 3 female with one Strepsiptera parasite between sterna 5
and 6.
(HLKHYM: 682; Female)
Figure I16: Polistes fuscatus species 3 female with one Strepsiptera parasite
between terga 6 and 7.
(HLKHYM: 684; Female)
Figure I17: Polistes
fuscatus species 3 with eight Strepsiptera parasites. The parasites are between: terga 3 and 4 (1),
terga 4 and 5 (3), terga 5 and 6 (1),
sterna 5 and 6 (2), sternum 7 and female genitalia (1).
Polistes
fuscatus species 5
(HLKHYM: 1108; Female)
Figure I18: Polistes
fuscatus species 5 female with one Strepsiptera parasite between terga 6
and 7.