Nepotistic colony fission in dense colony aggregations of an Australian paper wasp.

Social insects are highly diverse in their social structures, aside from the consistent presence of reproductive castes. Among social insects, the Australian paper wasp Ropalidia plebeiana constructs extremely dense colony aggregations consisting of hundreds of colonies within a few square meters; however, little is known about the aggregation structures. We genetically analyzed the colony and population structure of R.

Eusocial wasp fauna of Sulawesi Island, the central island of Wallacea (Hymenoptera: Vespidae; Polistinae, Vespinae).

Taxonomy of eusocial wasps (Polistinae and Vespinae) occurring in Sulawesi Island, the central island of Wallacea, is reviewed. Sixteen (12 polistine and four vespine) species are recognized. Polistes (Polistella) stigma, known to be widely distributed in southern Asia and Australasia, is newly recorded for Sulawesi Island.

Genetic Structure and Potential Environmental Determinants of Local Genetic Diversity in Japanese Honeybees (Apis cerana japonica).

Declines in honeybee populations have been a recent concern. Although causes of the declines remain unclear, environmental factors may be responsible. We focused on the potential environmental determinants of local populations of wild honeybees, Apis cerana japonica, in Japan.

Review of the paper wasps of the Parapolybia indica species-group (Hymenoptera: Vespidae, Polistinae) in eastern parts of Asia.

Nine species of the Parapolybia indica species-group in eastern parts of Asia are reviewed. Four new species are described: P. flava sp.