Phenotypic Variability of Polistes albellus Giordani Soika, 1976 (Hymenoptera: Vespidae)

Variability in the coloration and melanin patterns of the social wasp Polistes albellus Giordani Soika, 1976 (Hymenoptera: Vespidae), distributed from Western Europe (France) to the Pacific coast of Russia (Primorskii Territory), Mongolia, and China, is described. Altogether, 590 females and 101 males were examined. Phenotypic variability in P. albellus females was expressed on the mesoscutum, metasomal tergites 1 and 2, and metasomal sternites 4–6, and in males, also on the clypeus and coxae. The coloration elements and their relationships with the spatial and temporal nesting features were analyzed in three local populations of P. albellus in the Meshchera Lowlands (Ryazan Province, Russia). Overwintered foundresses of different morphotypes were shown to differ in the timing of nest initiation, the height of nests on plants, and the tendency to nest in clusters. The samples of queens from different settlements were phenotypically different both each other and from the samples of workers. The mesoscutum pattern appears to be related to habitat humidity, with darker variants being more common in workers from dry habitats. The heterogeneity of environmental conditions may facilitate higher variability of the melanin patterns in wasps.