Eight clusters of Ropalidia guttatipennis based on morphological, colour, and genetic features. Female, a. n cluster (nominal form), b. tT cluster, c. TT cluster, d. b cluster, e. d cluster, f. sm cluster.
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Distribution
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Angola, Cameroon, Central African Republic, Democratic Republic of the Congo,
Equatorial Guinea, Gabon, Gambia, Kenya, Mozambique, Senegal, Somalia, South Africa,
Tanzania.
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Biology |
Social, constructing communal paper nests. Larvae are fed
on chewed-up, soft-bodied insects such as caterpillars. See
Polistinae
Paper wasp home page for more details. |
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 American
Museum of Natural History 39: 1-384.
Polašek O, Onah I, Kehinde T, Rojo V, van Noort S, Carpenter JM. 2025. Revision of the mainland African species of the Old World social wasp genus Ropalidia Guérin-Méneville 1831 (Hymenoptera; Vespidae). Zootaxa 5626 (1): 001–142. https://doi.org/10.11646/zootaxa.5626.1.1 |
Credits
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Photographs © Ozren Polašek (Croatian Centre for Global Health,
University of Split).
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