| Ropalidiini | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Ropalidia sp | |
Scientific classification  | |
| Domain: | Eukaryota |
| Kingdom: | Animalia |
| Phylum: | Arthropoda |
| Class: | Insecta |
| Order: | Hymenoptera |
| Family: | Vespidae |
| Subfamily: | Polistinae |
| Tribe: | Ropalidiini |
Ropalidiini is a tribe of social wasps inhabiting the Afrotropical, Indomalayan and Australasian biogeographical regions.
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Paper wasps are vespid wasps that gather fibers from dead wood and plant stems, which they mix with saliva, and use to construct nests made of gray or brown papery material. Some types of paper wasps are also sometimes called umbrella wasps, due to the distinctive design of their nests.
Polistes is a cosmopolitan genus of paper wasps and the only genus in the tribe Polistini. Vernacular names for the genus include umbrella wasps, coined by Walter Ebeling in 1975 to distinguish it from other types of paper wasp, in reference to the form of their nests, and umbrella paper wasps. Polistes is the single largest genus within the family Vespidae, with over 200 recognized species. Their innate preferences for nest-building sites leads them to commonly build nests on human habitation, where they can be very unwelcome; although generally not aggressive, they can be provoked into defending their nests. All species are predatory, and they may consume large numbers of caterpillars, in which respect they are generally considered beneficial.
The family Gryllidae contains the subfamilies and genera which entomologists now term true crickets. Having long, whip-like antennae, they belong to the Orthopteran suborder Ensifera, which has been greatly reduced in the last 100 years : taxa such as the spider-crickets and allies, sword-tail crickets, wood or ground crickets and scaly crickets have been elevated to family level. The type genus is Gryllus and the first use of the family name "Gryllidae" was by Francis Walker.
Tenodera is a genus of mantis in the family Mantidae which contains several species of praying mantises. The species in this genus can be found primarily in Africa, Asia and Australia, but also North America.
Holocompsa is a genus of hairy sand cockroaches in the family Corydiidae. It is the only genus in the subfamily Holocompsinae.
Mischocyttarus is a very large, primarily Neotropical genus of social wasps with a few species found also in the Nearctic region. It is the only member of the tribe Mischocyttarini; the asymmetrical tarsal lobes of Mischocyttarus separates it from the tribe Epiponini. Mischocyttarus is the largest genus of social wasps, containing over 200 species and subspecies. Mischocyttarus wasps build a relatively simple, single comb nest. Sometimes, the nest is built within a meter of the nest of Polistes carnifex. Foraging adults bring nectar and small caterpillars back to the nest to feed to the developing larvae which are individually housed in separate cells in the nest. Not all nests have a female with developed ovaries. Their biology is similar to that of species in the genus Polistes. However, Mischocyttarus appear to show considerably more social and reproductive flexibility than Polistes.
Ropalidia is a large genus of eusocial paper wasps (Polistinae) in the tribe Ropalidiini distributed throughout the Afrotropical, Indomalayan and Australasian biogeographical regions. The genus Ropalidia is unique because it contains both independent and swarm-founding species. Ropalidia romandi is one of the swarm founding species, meaning that new nests are founded by a large group of workers with a smaller number of inseminated females, while Ropalidia revolutionalis is independent-founding, meaning that each nest is founded by a single foundress.
Rhynchium is an Australian, Afrotropical, Indomalayan and Palearctic genus of potter wasps.
Polybia is a genus of eusocial wasps ranging from Central to South America. Some produce enough honey to be collected and eaten by local people.
Icaria is a genus of eusocial paper wasps in the Ropalidiini tribe, which was later synonymized to Ropalidia Guérin-Méneville. The former genus contained, among other, the following species:
Belonogaster is a large genus of mainly Afrotropical quasisocial wasps, although some species occur in Arabia and two extend as far as India. They have characteristics of both the eusocial and the solitary wasps. Belonogaster constructs communal paper nests where the grubs are fed on masticated, soft-bodied insects such as caterpillars. The type species is Belonogaster juncea, which consists of two subspecies: Belonogaster juncea colonialis and Belonogaster juncea juncea. Belanogaster wasps are an important food source for wintering European honey buzzards in sub-Saharan Africa. In African traditional medicine, wasps of the genus are cooked with plant roots and consumed to cure various childhood sicknesses, as well as having ceremonial use similar to that of honey bees. Some birds choose to build their nests near the nests of Belonogaster for protection, including mousebirds and weavers.
Belonogaster juncea is a typical quasisocial paper wasp from sub-saharan Africa and south-western Asia. It is the type species for the genus Belonogaster.
Ropalidia revolutionalis, the stick-nest brown paper wasp, is a diurnal social wasp of the family Vespidae. They are known for the distinctive combs they make for their nests, and they are mostly found in Queensland, Australia in the areas of Brisbane and Townsville. They are an independent founding wasp species, and they build new nests each spring. They can be helpful because they control insect pests in gardens.
The African swarm-founding wasp, Polybioides tabidus, is a social paper wasp from the order Hymenoptera that is typically found in Central Africa. This wasp is unique in that it exhibits cyclical oligogyny, meaning queen number varies with colony cycle. After several generations of production of workers and future queens, a subset of many workers and queens leave the original colony to begin a new one. The new colony does not produce new queens until current queens from the old colony have died. P. tabidus has been observed to display both predator and scavenger behavior, depending on the food sources available.
Polybioides raphigastra is a species of social wasp found in the forests of South East Asia and Indonesia. It has recently been placed in the tribe Ropalidiini. This species is known for the downward-spiraling shape of their nests, and for having colony sizes exceeding ten thousand members.
Scolia is a genus of scoliid wasps in the subfamily Scoliinae. There are over 200 described species in Scolia.
Polybioides is a genus of paper wasp of the sub-family Polistinae which contains six species which are found in the Neotropical, Afrotropical and Indomalayan zoogeographic regions.
Gryllini is a tribe of crickets and typical of the family Gryllidae. Species are terrestrial, carnivorous or omnivorous and can be found in all continenents except Antarctica.
Ropalidia ornaticeps is an Asian species of paper wasp in the tribe Ropalidiini; no subspecies are listed in the Catalogue of Life. The recorded distribution for this species includes India through to Indochina, including Vietnam; the type specimens are females, taken from the Khasia Hills and deposited in Oxford and London.
Ropalidia amabala is an African species of paper wasp, described in 2022 based on the targeted search for a taxon that was firstly observed in the citizen science platform iNaturalist. The name originates from the Zulu word amabala, meaning "spots", and refers to the six spots integrated with the posterior band on T2 and S2, characteristic for this species. In contrast to other mainland African Ropalidia species, this species builds nests directly on the tree trunks, especially in Brachychiton. The nest-building material is a nearby lichen, which gives a nest greyish colour and blends it perfectly into the surrounding area.