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Belonogaster Saussure

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

Belonogaster Saussure,1853. Type species: Vespa juncea Fabricius, 1781.

 

Classification

Belonogaster atrata species group
Belonogaster atrata Schulthess, 1912
Belonogaster aurata Richards, 1982
Belonogaster levior Richards, 1982

Belonogaster velutina Selis & Longair, 2025

 
Not assigned to species groups
  Belonogaster abyssinica Buysson, 1906
  Belonogaster acaulis Richards, 1982
  Belonogaster adenensis Giordani Soika, 1957
  Belonogaster ambiko Hensen and Blommers, 1987
  Belonogaster apicalis Saussure, 1900
  Belonogaster arabica Giordani Soika, 1958
  Belonogaster barbata Richards, 1982
  Belonogaster betsileo Hensen and Blommers, 1987
  Belonogaster bicolor Saussure, 1900
  Belonogaster bimaculata Richards, 1982
  Belonogaster brachystoma Kohl, 1894
  Belonogaster brevipetiolata Saussure, 1891
  Belonogaster brevitarsus Richards, 1982
  Belonogaster brunnea Ritsema, 1874
  Belonogaster brunnescens Richards, 1982
 

Belonogaster confusa Kojima, 2001

  Belonogaster clypeata Kohl, 1894
  Belonogaster dayi Hensen and Blommers, 1987
  Belonogaster discifera Hensen and Blommers, 1987
Belonogaster dubia Khol, 1894
  Belonogaster erythrocephala Hensen and Blommers, 1987
  Belonogaster eumenoides Saussure, 1891
  Belonogaster facialis Buysson, 1908
  Belonogaster fanemitra Hensen and Blommers, 1987
  Belonogaster ferruginea Richards, 1982
  Belonogaster filiformis (de Saussure, 1853)
  Belonogaster filiventris (Saussure, 1853)
  Belonogaster flava Richards, 1982
  Belonogaster freyi Buysson, 1909
  Belonogaster fuscipennis Buysson, 1909
  Belonogaster grisea (Fabricius, 1775)
  Belonogaster guerini (Saussure, 1853)
  Belonogaster guichardi Richards, 1982
  Belonogaster hildebrandti Saussure, 1891
  Belonogaster hirsuta Richards, 1982
  Belonogaster jordani Richards, 1982
Belonogaster juncea juncea (Fabricius, 1781)
Belonogaster juncea colonialis Khol, 1894
  Belonogaster keiseri Richards, 1982
  Belonogaster kelnerpillautae Richards, 1982
Belonogaster kohli Schulz, 1906
  Belonogaster lateritia Gerstaecker, 1855
  Belonogaster leonhardii Buysson, 1909
  Belonogaster leonina Richards, 1982
  Belonogaster libera Richards, 1982
Belonogaster longitarsus Richards, 1982
  Belonogaster macilenta (Fabricius, 1781)
Belonogaster maculata Richards, 1982
  Belonogaster madecassa (Saussure, 1853)
  Belonogaster malagassa de Saussure, 1900
  Belonogaster mandraka Hensen and Blommers, 1987
  Belonogaster maromandia Richards, 1982
  Belonogaster meneliki Gribodo, 1879
  Belonogaster multipunctata Richards, 1982
Belonogaster neavei Richards, 1982
  Belonogaster nigricans Richards, 1982
Belonogaster nitida Richards, 1982
  Belonogaster pennata Richards, 1982
  Belonogaster petiolata (Degeer, 1778)
  Belonogaster pileata Richards, 1982
  Belonogaster pomicolor de Saussure, 1900
  Belonogaster prasina Saussure, 1891
  Belonogaster principalis Richards, 1982
  Belonogaster punctata Richards, 1982
  Belonogaster punctilla Richards, 1982
  Belonogaster pusilloides Richards, 1982
  Belonogaster rothkirchi Schulthess, 1914
  Belonogaster saeva Saussure, 1891
  Belonogaster saussurei Kirby, 1881
  Belonogaster schulthessi Kojima, 2001
  Belonogaster scutifera Hensen and Blommers, 1987
  Belonogaster somereni Richards,1982
  Belonogaster tanosy Hensen and Blommers, 1987
  Belonogaster tarsata Kohl, 1893
  Belenogaster tessmanni von Schulthess, 1910
  Belonogaster tipuliformis Hensen and Blommers, 1987
  Belonogaster trandraka Hensen and Blommers, 1987
Belonogaster turbulenta Kohl, 1894
  Belonogaster turgida Kohl, 1894
  Belonogaster ugandae Richards, 1982
  Belonogaster vadoni Hensen and Blommers, 1987
  Belonogaster vasseae Buysson, 1906
Belonogaster species
Belonogaster species

Distribution

Afrotropical region.

Biology

Social, constructing communal paper nests. Larvae are fed on chewed-up, soft-bodied insects such as caterpillars.

References

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 AMNH 39: 1-384.

Keeping MG & Crewe RM. 1983. Parasitoids, commensals and colony size in nests of Belonogaster (Hymenoptera: Vespidae). Journal of the Entomological Society of Southern Africa. 46: 309–323.

Picker, M., Griffiths, C & Weaving, A. 2002. Field Guide to Insects of South Africa. Struik Publishers, Cape Town.

Richards, O.W. 1982. A revision of the genus Belonogaster de Saussure (Hymenoptera: Vespidae). Bull. Br. Mus. nat. Hist. (Ent.)  Vol 44: 31-114.

Selis, M, Longair RW. 2025. New data on the genus Belonogaster de Saussure, with establishment of the atrata species-group (Hymenoptera: Vespidae: Polistinae). Zootaxa 5692 (2): 353-368. https://doi.org/10.11646/zootaxa.5692.2.8.

Credits

Photographs © Simon van Noort (Iziko Museums of South Africa) or © Vida van der Walt (Pretoria) or © Mike Picker & Charles Griffiths (University of Cape Town) (published in Struik's Field Guide to Insects of South Africa).


Web author Simon van Noort (Iziko South African Museum)

 

Citation: van Noort, S. 2026. WaspWeb: Hymenoptera of the World. URL: www.waspweb.org (accessed on <day/month/year>).

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