An account of males in primitively Eusocial wasp Polistes wattii

Abstract

Polistine wasps are the most common type of paper wasps found in North America. They belong to order hymenoptera and family vespidae. Polistes wattii is one of the temperate species of paper wasp. Males of tropical Polistes are available throughout year while males of temperate species are always produced near the end of the colony cycle and do not overwinter (Ross and Carpenter 1991). Also these wasps are infected with Strepsipteran endoparasite which leads to the stylopization of the host. Our data gives an account of males in P. wattii, their occurance, mating and the effect of Strepsiptera on these males.