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Polybioides melainus (Meade-Waldo)

(Life: Kingdom: Metazoa (animals): Phylum: Arthropoda: Class: Hexapoda; Order: Hymenoptera: Superfamily: Vespoidea: Family: Vespidae: Genus: Polybioides)

Polybia melaina Meade-Waldo, 1911. Lectotype: The ntaura History musuem, London (BMNH). Type Locality: between Salt Lake and Wawamba, near Mount Ruwenzori, Uganda.

Polybioides_melaina_SAM-HYM-P044105_habitus_dorsal Polybioides_melaina_SAM-HYM-P044105_habitus_lateral

Distribution

Central African Republic, Democratic Republic of the Congo, Kenya, Uganda.

Biology

The nest consists of a small number of double-sided combs, arranged vertically, attached at the top end to a branch, and enclosed in a thin, brittle paper covering. The nests can reach a size of 90cm in length and then contain many individuals, which readily react to any disturbance inflicting a painful sting in defense of their nest. Adults forage on meat, ripe bananas and visit flowers (Bequaert, 1918).

Reference

Bequaert, J.C. 1918. A revision of the Vespidae of the Belgian Congo based on the collection of the American Museum Congo Expedition: with a list of Ethiopian diplopterous wasps. Bulletin of the American Museum of Natural History 39: 1-384.

Credits

Photographs © Simon van Noort (Iziko Museums of South Africa).


Web author Simon van Noort (Iziko South African Museum)

 

Citation: van Noort, S. 2024. WaspWeb: Hymenoptera of the World. URL: www.waspweb.org (accessed on <day/month/year>).

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