Biodiversity of Insecta in Amazonia: Updating the geographic records of social wasps (Vespidae: Polistinae) in Acre and Rondônia States, Brazil

Abstract

The Acre and Rondônia states in Brazil are part of the Western Amazon rainforest in Brazil, an area harboring high biodiversity and high degree of endemisms. Nevertheless, there are few studies on diversity of social wasps occurring in both states. This study presents a list of social wasps (Vespidae: Polistinae) collected using three modified Malaise trap models: Townes, Gressitt and Gressitt, and suspended traps in two localities in Acre and two in Rondônia states. A total of 60 species were collected, 20 of these species are new distribution records to Acre State. Meanwhile, 54 species were collected in Rondônia State, 15 of which are new collecting records. Some species are not commonly found in collections and lists of species, and some are recorded for the first or second time to Brazil or the Amazon region. Currently there are 114 species (19 genera) for Acre and 116 species (19 genera) for Rondônia. This increase may be an indication that the Polistinae richness is probably higher in the regions studied and that Acre and Rondônia may well contain a number of additional (as yet unrecorded) social wasp species. We also present an update on the geographic records of social wasps’ fauna in both states. © 2020 Universidade Estadual de Feira de Santana. All rights reserved.