Additional reports of solitary potter wasps (Hymenoptera: Vespidae: Eumeninae) in Bhutan

Abstract

Potter wasps belong to the subfamily Eumeninae of family Vespidae. These are solitary species though some show primitive social behavior. This group is economically important as the predators of insect larva of many pests; however, adults feed on nectar (Srinivasan & Kumar 2010). The potter or mason wasp of Bhutan is documented by Giordani (1975) recording Rhynchium haemorrhoidale quinquecinctum, Ancistrocerus sikkimensis, Delta pyriforme, and described Stenodynerus baronii and Antepipona bhutanensis as new to science. Pareumenes quadrispinosus was reported from the Himalaya by Bingham (1897), and Srinivasan & Kumar (2010) specifically listed it from Bhutan in their distribution list. Nidup et al. (2016) reported seven species of petiolate potter wasps from Bhutan with an additional two subspecies, Pareumenes quadrispinosus acutus and Delta pyriforme pyriforme. This, however, is a mere underestimation of the vast diversity and richness of Eumeninae wasps in Bhutan. This paper reports 11 species with an additional subspecies from Bhutan including Antepipona bhutanensis Giordani, 1975, for the first time after its original description. This study is based on a series of specimens collected during the invertebrate documentation project during the period of June 2014 to June 2017 from different localities of Bhutan.