Males, Mature Larvae, and Nests of Ropalidia plebeja, a Nearly Solitary Paper Wasp Endemic to Sulawesi (Insecta : Hymenoptera : Vespidae), with Taxonomic Notes on the R. plebeja Group

Abstract

The morphologies of the male, mature larva, and nest of Ropalidia plebeja (Saussure, 1862, non 1863) are described for the first time. A nest of R. celebensis Van der Vecht, 1941 and the mature larvae and details of nest structure of R. rufoplagiata (Cameron, 1905) are also described for the first time. Taxonomic notes and a key to species of the R. plebeja group, which includes R. plebeja, R. celebensis, R. rufoplagiata, R. andamanensis Das and Gupta, 1989, R. turneri Richards, 1978, and R. cristata Kojima, 1989, are provided. New synonymies proposed are R. gravelyi Dover and Rao, 1922 and R. rufoplagiata nursei Van der Vecht, 1941, both under R. rufoplagiata. The colony populations of R. plebeja suggest that this species probably has a nearly solitary life habit. Character states supporting the monophyly of the R. plebeja species group, and those linking it to the R. gracilis (Smith, 1859) species group, are examined in detail.