A new genus of polistine wasps from the Oligocene of Aix-en-Provence, France (Hymenoptera: Vespidae)

Abstract

Polistine wasps (Vespidae: Polistinae) are iconic eusocial wasps found throughout the world, famed for their range of social organization and therefore a favorite subject for sociobiological studies (e.g., Gadagkar, 2001; Piekarski et al., 2018). The subfamily is currently organized into four tribes: the New World Epiponini and Mischocyttarini, the cosmopolitan Polistini, and the Afrotropical, Indomalayan, and Australian Ropalidiini.