FAUNA PARAGUAY LIST OF THE WASPS OF PARAGUAY

FAUNA Paraguay List of the Wasps of Paraguay
The following is an incomplete list of the wasps of Paraguay based on publications by Bolivar Garcete-Barrett. Currently 235 species are featured. The species scientific name is given in italics and the descriptor follows in normal type. Where the descriptor is given in brackets this means that the species was originally described under a different name from the one currently used. Numbers given in brackets after familial or subfamilial names refer to the number of species in the group recorded in Paraguay (in some cases this number represents only the numbr of species for which we have information and many more species are likely present). Click on the reference links to download the relevant publication in pdf format. Click on the family links for access to their image galleries or click here for the wasp home page. Species marked with a * are those for which we currently have images.
Bolivar has very kindly agreed to make his publications on Paraguayan Hymenoptera available for download on FAUNA Paraguay and these are available on the Wasp pdfs page. These publications are highly-recomended for anybody interested in Paraguayan Hymenoptera as is his superb guide Avispas Sociales del Paraguay. This latter publication contains a detailed and easy to follow key to the identification of each species in the Vespid subfamily Polistinae and can be bought through the Natural History Museum in London and the Fundación Moises Bertoni in Paraguay. A reference copy is available in the FAUNA Paraguay library.

FAMILY BRACONIDAE (1+)
*Unidentified sp.

FAMILY CHALCIDIDAE (2+) "Parasitic Wasps"
Tiny parasitic wasps. No reliable key to the species in this family currently exists. (Bolivar Garcete in litt.).
Brachymeria (1) - Adults lay eggs on Lepidopteran larvae. When the caterpillars pupate the immature wasps complete their development and emerge through the walls of the pupa leaving its host dead and full of holes.(Bolivar Garcete in litt.).
*Brachymeria sp.
*Conura sp.

FAMILY CRABRONIDAE (40+) "Sand Wasps"
Tachytes (26) - Generally small (5-25mm), broad-bodied wasps with well-developed jugal lobe on posterior wings. Third submarginal cell of forewing is curved and stretched towards the apex. Posterior ocelli are deformed and comma-shaped. Subterranean nests provisioned with Orthopterans. (Garcete-Barrett 2001i).
Tachytes alvarengai Bohart
Tachytes amazonus Smith
Tachytes chrysopyga (Spinola)
Tachytes coloratus Bohart
Tachytes concinnus Smith
Tachytes costalis Taschenberg
Tachytes falgellarius Bohart
Tachytes fraternus Taschenberg
Tachytes fritzi Bohart
Tachytes hades Schrottky
Tachytes leprieurii (Spinola)
Tachytes menkei Bohart
Tachytes micantipygus Strand
Tachytes minutior Bohart
Tachytes nitidiusculus (Smith)
Tachytes ornatipes Cameron
Tachytes pretiosus Cameron
Tachytes pubescens Bohart
Tachytes rhododactylus Taschenberg
Tachytes rufalaris Bohart
Tachytes setiger Kohl
Tachytes setosus Taschenberg
Tachytes simulans Smith
Tachytes stangei Bohart
Tachytes ustulatus Bohart
Tachytes varians (Fabricius)
Trachypus (11) - Indented eyes, clypeus trilobed on superior border, roots of the antennae separate from the clypeus delicate body and forewing with three submarginal cells. Subterranean nests provisioned with adult bees.(Garcete-Barrett 2001j).
Trachypus annulatus Spinola
Trachypus boharti Rubio
Trachypus batrachostomus Schrottky
Trachypus elongatus (Fabricius)
Trachypus fasciatus Rubio
Trachypus flavidus (Taschenberg)
Trachypus fulvipennis (Taschenberg)
Trachypus miles Schrottky
Trachypus patagonensis (Saussure)
Trachypus petiolatus (Spinola)
Trachypus soniae Rubio
Trypoxylon (1+) - Small, spider-hunting wasps that line their nests with the bodies of small spiders, each with an egg deposited upon it. Larger species dig their own tunnels, smaller species make use of holes in wood dug by beetle larvae or even holes left by nails. It is the female that builds and provisions the nest with spiders, the male remains inside or nearby and defends it. This group is badly in need of revision, with the last treatment of the Neotropical species published in the mid-1940s. Identification to species level is extremely complex. (Bolivar Garcete in litt.)
*Trypoxylon sp.
*Unidentified sp. in subfamily Pemphredoninae

FAMILY DRYNIDAE (32)
Small wasps with ten-segmented antennae inserted near the clypeus. Chelate protarsus of females composed of hypertophied claw and the lateral expansion of tarsomere 5. Larvae are parasites of Homoptera Auchenorrhyncha. A large number of additional species likely occur in Paraguay where this group is under-studied. (Garcete-Barrett & Olmi 1996 and Garcete-Barrett 2001g).

Subfamily Anteoninae (12)
Anteon panamense Olmi
Anteon paraguayense Olmi
Deinodryinus atlanticus Olmi
Deinodryinus hirticornis (Keiffer)
Deinodryinus incaicus Olmi
Deinodryinus noyesi Olmi
Deinodryinus perlucens Olmi
Deinodryinus peruvianus Olmi
Deinodryinus pseudobilobus Olmi
Deinodryinus saltensis Olmi
Deinodryinus trindadi Olmi
Deinodryinus vagans Olmi

Subfamily Aphelopinae (4)
Aphelopus diffusus Olmi
Aphelopus jamaicanus Olmi
Aphelopus ocellaris Olmi
Aphelopus trinitatis Olmi

Subfamily Bocchinae (1)
Bocchus neotropicalis Olmi

Subfamily Dryininae (7)
Dryinus atrox Olmi
Dryinus bocainanus (Olmi)
Dryinus fiebrigi Olmi
Dryinus pegnai Olmi
Dryinus ruficauda (Richards)
Dryinus ruficeps Cameron
Dryinus surinamensis Olmi

Subfamily Gonatopodinae (8)
Eucamptonyx garcetei Olmi
Gonatopus cilipes Kieffer
Gonatopus contortus Olmi
Gonatopus cubensis (Richards)
Gonatopus huggerti Olmi
Neodryinus kaaguypegua Olmi
Neodryinus trinitatis Richards
Trichogonatopus albomarginatus (Cameron)

FAMILY ICHNEUMONIDAE (3+)
*Unidentified sp.
*Unidentified sp.
*Unidentified sp.

FAMILY LEUCOSPIDAE (13)
Small wasps (7-15mm) that imitate members of the family Vespidae in their colouration and general aspect. Posterior femur thickened and with ventral border notched. Elongated tegula. Larvae are ectoparasites of solitary bees.(Garcete-Barrett 2001f)
Leucospis desantisi Boucek
Leucospis egaia Walker
Leucospis enderleini Ashmead
Leucospis genalis Boucek
Leucospis ignota Walker
Leucospis imitans Boucek
Leucospis manaica Roman
Leucospis metatibialis Boucek
Leucospis nigripyga Boucek
Leucospis propinqua Schletterer
Leucospis signifera Boucek

FAMILY POMPILIDAE (46+) "Spider Wasps"
Subfamily Pepsinae "Tarantula Hawks" (Vardy 2000, 2002 & 2005)
*Unidentified sp. in subfamily Pepsinae
Pepsis aciculata Taschenberg
Pepsis adonta Vardy
Pepsis albocincta Smith
Pepsis amyntas Mócsary
Pepsis auriguttata Burmeister
Pepsis australis Saussure
Pepsis boharti Vardy
Pepsis bonplandi Brèthes
Pepsis brevicornis Mócsary
Pepsis brunneicornis Lucas
Pepsis caridei Brèthes
Pepsis cassiope Mócsary
Pepsis chacoana Brèthes
Pepsis chrysoptera Burmeister
Pepsis completa Smith
Pepsis crassicornis Mócsary
Pepsis decorata Perty
Pepsis defecta Taschenberg
Pepsis dimidiata Fabricius
Pepsis discolor Taschenberg
Pepsis elevata Fabricius
Pepsis festiva Fabricius
Pepsis filiola Brèthes
Pepsis flavescens Lucas
Pepsis foxi Lucas
Pepsis helvolicornis Lucas
Pepsis inclyta Lepeletier
Pepsis infuscata Spinola
Pepsis laetabilis Brèthes
Pepsis lampas Lucas
Pepsis limbata Guérin
Pepsis maeandrina Lucas
Pepsis martini Vardy
Pepsis menechma Lepeletier
Pepsis minarum Brèthes
Pepsis nitida Lepeletier
Pepsis optimatis Smith
Pepsis roigi Vardy
Pepsis seladonica Dahlbom
Pepsis smaragdina Dahlbom
Pepsis terminata Dahlbom
Pepsis varipennis Lepeletier
Pepsis viridis Lepeletier
Pepsis xanthocera Dahlbom

FAMILY SCOLIIDAE (1+) "Scarab Hawks"
*Campsomeris sp.

FAMILY SPHECIDAE (6) "Digger Wasps"

Subfamily Ammophilinae (6)
Slender, elongated body generally wholly black. "Waist" formed by two segments when viewed dorsally with episternal groove forming a wide V-shape. Dig underground nests which are provisioned with caterpillars on which the larvae feed (Garcete-Barrett 2001h).
Eremnophila auromaculata (Pérez)
Eremnophila binodis (Fabricius)
Eremnophila eximia (Lepeletier)
Eremnophila melanaria (Dahlbom)
Eremnophila opulenta (Guérin-Méneville)
Eremnophila willinki (Mencke)

FAMILY VESPIDAE (91) "Yellowjackets"
Female with 12 segmented antennae, male 13 segmented. Female with six metasomal (thoracic) segments, male with seven. Short and broad pronotal lobe. Forewing with at least nine complete cells. First discal cell of the forewing clearly larger than subasal cell. Legs lack long spines. Eyes with pronounced notch. Lack hairy line along the edge of the thrid upper metasomal segment. Forewings held folded along body at rest. Base of antennae not hidden by frontal process. (Garcete-Barrett 1999 Avispas Sociales del Paraguay).

Subfamily Eumeninae (16) "Potter Wasps"
Carpenter J. M. & B. R. Garcete-Barrett. 2005. ; Garcete-Barrett, B. R. 2001a ; Garcete-Barrett, B. R. 2001c.; Garcete-Barrett, B. R. 2003a (2002) ; Garcete-Barrett, B. R. 2003b (2002) ; Garcete-Barrett, B. R. 2003c (2002) ; Hermes, M.G., B.R. Garcete-Barrett & A. Köhler. 2005.
Alphamenes insignis Soika
Cephalastor estela Garcete-Barrett
Cephalastor rominae Garcete-Barrett
Cephalastor rufosuffusus (Fox)
* Omicron ruficolle
Parazumia paranensis (Bertoni)
Pseudocaromenes johnsoni (Cameron)
Pseudodynerus auratoides (Bertoni)
Pseudodynerus serratus (Fox)
Santamenes novarae Saussure
Santamenes olympicus Zavattari
Stenoartonia guaranitica (Bertoni) n. comb.
Zethus fraternus Saussure
Zethus frederickorum Garcete-Barrett
Zethus mutatus Zavattari
Zethus obscurus Zavattari

Subfamily Masarinae (8) "Pollen Wasps"
Carpenter, J.M., B.R. Garcete-Barrett & Marcel Hermes. 2006.
Ceramiopsis gestroi Zavattari
Ceramiopsis paraguayensis Bertoni
Paramasaris richardsi (Giordani Soika)
Trimeria americana (Saussure)
Trimeria bequaerti Willink
Trimeria howardi Bertoni
Trimeria neotropica (Mocsáry)
Trimeria rhachiphora (Schletterer)

Subfamily Polistinae (67) "Social Wasps"
Three submarginal cells on forewing. Short mandibles with toothed edge approximately perpendicular to principal axis. Clypeus terminates in a single inferior angle. (Garcete-Barrett 1999 Avispas Sociales del Paraguay).
Agelaia (5) - Ocelli normal. Eyes well separated. Jugal lobe of hindwing well developed. Mesopleuron with longitudinal suture. Cavity nest with numerous panels suspended from stalks. First metastomal segment visibly longer than second. (Garcete-Barrett 1999 Avispas Sociales del Paraguay).
Agelaia bequaerti (Richards) n. stat.
Agelaia bertonii (Richards) n. stat.
Agelaia multipicta (Haliday)
*Agelaia pallipes (Olivier)
Agelaia vicina (Saussure)
Apoica (1) - Large ocelli. Jugal lobe of hindwing reduced. Single panel open nest lacking stalk but unified to substrate along central axis. Eyes close together. Mesopleuron with longitudinal suture. First metastomal segment visibly longer than second. (Garcete-Barrett 1999 Avispas Sociales del Paraguay).
Apoica pallens (Fabricius)
Brachygastra (2) - First metastomal segment short and broad and smaller than second. Metanotum vertical and straight. Propodium vertical in profile with straight posterior face. Pronotum lacks fovea. Third and fourth tarsomere of legs with internal lobe of similar length to external. Enclosed nest. (Garcete-Barrett 1999 Avispas Sociales del Paraguay).
Brachygastra augusti (Saussure)
Brachygastra lecheguana (Latreille)
Chartergellus communis Richards
Chartergus (1) - Well-developed first metastomal segment short and broad. Propodium vertical in profile with straight posterior face. Metanotum with short superior horizontal face and larger posterior face. Pronotum lacks fovea. Third and fourth tarsomere of legs with internal lobe of similar length to external. Enclosed nest. (Garcete-Barrett 1999 Avispas Sociales del Paraguay).
Chartergus chartarius (Olivier)
Metapolybia (1) - First metastomal segment long and thin. Pronotum lacks fovea. Propodium concave in the centre throughout its length, but straight-edged in profile. Eyes approximately half head width when viewed in profile. Third and fourth tarsomere of legs with internal lobe of similar length to external. Small, non-metallic wasps with wing length c6mm. Nest attached to substrate and covered like an armadillo shell. (Garcete-Barrett 1999 Avispas Sociales del Paraguay).
Metapolybia cingulata Fabricius
Mischocyttarus (21) - Third and fourth tarsomere of legs with internal lobe longer than external. Simple, single panel open nest suspended from a stalk. (Garcete-Barrett 1999 Avispas Sociales del Paraguay).
Mischocyttarus anthracinus Richards
Mischocyttarus araujoi Zikán
Mischocyttarus atramentarius Zikán
*Mischocyttarus bertonii Ducke
Mischocyttarus cassununga (Ihering)
Mischocyttarus collarellus Richards
Mischocyttarus consimilis Zikám
Mischocyttarus drewseni Saussure
Mischocyttarus frontalis (Fox)
Mischocyttarus gilvus Zikán
Mischocyttarus latior (Fox)
Mischocyttarus marginatus (Fox)
Mischocyttarus mattogrossensis Zikán
*Mischocyttarus paraguayanesis Zikán
Mischocyttarus parallelogrammus Zikán
Mischocyttarus punctatus (Ducke)
*Mischocyttarus rotundicollis (Cameron)
Mischocyttarus schadei Zikán
Mischocyttarus thrypticus Richards
Mischocyttarus tricolor Richards
Mischocyttarus villaricanus Zikán
Parachartergus (1) - First metastomal segment as wide as second. Maxillary palp with 6 segments, labial palp with 3. Pronotum with fovea. Third and fourth tarsomere of legs with internal lobe of similar length to external. Nest a series of panels each unified to substrate by separate stalks but enclosed within common covering. (Garcete-Barrett 1999 Avispas Sociales del Paraguay).
Parachartergus pseudapicalis Willink
Polistes (21) - First metasomal segment conical and sessile. Simple open, single-panel hive suspended from a "stalk". (Garcete-Barrett 1999 Avispas Sociales del Paraguay).
*Polistes actaeon Haliday
Polistes bequaertianus Willink
Polistes billardieri Fabricius
Polistes brevifissus Richards
*Polistes canadensis (Linnaeus)
Polistes carnifex (Fabricius)
*Polistes cavapyta Saussure
*Polistes cinerascens Saussure
Polistes consobrinus Saussure
Polistes eburneus Bequaert
Polistes geminatus Fox
Polistes lanio (Fabricius)
Polistes major Palisot
Polistes melanosoma Saussure
Polistes obscurus Saussure
Polistes pacificus Fabricius
Polistes paraguayensis Bertoni
Polistes simillimus Zikán
Polistes subcericeus Saussure
Polistes thoracicus Fox
*Polistes versicolor (Olivier)
Polybia (10) - Ocelli clustered. First metastomal segment long and stretched. Second and third metastomal segments lacking spots. Mesopleuron lacks longitudinal suture. Enclosed nest. (Garcete-Barrett 1999 Avispas Sociales del Paraguay).
Polybia chrysothorax (Lichtenstein)
Polybia fastidiosuscula Saussure
Polybia ignobilis (Haliday)
Polybia miniarum Ducke
Polybia occidentalis (Olivier)
Polybia paulista Ihering
Polybia platycephala Richards
*Polybia ruficeps Schrottky
Polybia scutellaris (White)
*Polybia sericea (Olivier)
Protonectarina (1) - Posterior ocelli well-spaced. First metastomal segment short and thick. Second and third metastomal segments spotted. Mesopleuron lacks longitudinal suture. Enclosed nest. (Garcete-Barrett 1999 Avispas Sociales del Paraguay).
Protonectarina sylveirae (Saussure)
Protopolybia (2) - First metastomal segment long and stretched. Mesopleuron lacks longitudinal suture.Nest enclosed with panels suspended from several stalks. (Garcete-Barrett 1999 Avispas Sociales del Paraguay).
Protopolybia exigua (Saussure)
Protopolybia sedula (Saussure)
Synoeca (1) - First metastomal segment long and thin. Propodium convex in profile and only slightly concave close to the base of the metastoma. Eyes narrow, less than half head width when viewed dorsally. Third and fourth tarsomere of legs with internal lobe of similar length to external. Pronotum lacks fovea. Large, metallic wasps with wing length c17mm. Nest attached to substrate and covered like an armadillo shell. (Garcete-Barrett 1999 Avispas Sociales del Paraguay).
*Synoeca cyanea (Fabricius)