Review of the potter wasps (Hymenoptera: Vespidae, Eumeninae) with a petiolate metasoma from Indonesian Archipelago

Abstract

The taxonomy and biogeography of potter wasps with a petiolate metasoma occurring in the Indonesian Archipelago are reviewed. Literature review and specimens examination were carried out for the present study. Within the Eumeninae, the wasps with a petiolate metasoma distributed in the region have been more or less well studied compared with those with a non-petiolate metasoma, but their generic affinities and the concepts of some species yet remain unestablished. A total of 80 species belonging to 16 genera of the “petiolate metasoma” are known to occur from the region. Sumatra, Java, Bali and Borneo have mainly Oriental eumenine fauna, including several area- specific species of the Oriental genera. New Guinean fauna is comprised of Papua-Australian species of the widely distributed genera, together with widely distributed species and species endemic to New Guinea. The Wallacean fauna is constituted mainly with the area-specific species in the rather widely distributed genera; in the western part of Wallacea, they are represented mainly by widely distributed genera, together with Oriental genera; in the eastern part of Wallacea, they are constituted mainly by area endemic species of widely distributed Oriental genera. Widely distributed species generally show a wide range of variation in the marking patterns, and occurs sympatrically in some areas, even the peripheral populations usually characterized by the island(s)-specific marking patterns. Sympatric occurrences of forms with quite different color patterns in widely distributed species need further study to establish their taxonomic status, namely whether they are variations within a given area or different species.