Mischocyttarus | |
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Western paper wasp (Mischocyttarus flavitarsis) building a nest | |
Scientific classification ![]() | |
Domain: | Eukaryota |
Kingdom: | Animalia |
Phylum: | Arthropoda |
Class: | Insecta |
Order: | Hymenoptera |
Family: | Vespidae |
Subfamily: | Polistinae |
Tribe: | Mischocyttarini |
Genus: | Mischocyttarus Saussure, 1853 |
Species | |
>200 species |
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;[1] 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.[1] Mischocyttarus wasps build a relatively simple, single comb nest. Sometimes, the nest is built within a meter of the nest of Polistes carnifex.[2] 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.[3] Not all nests have a female with developed ovaries.[2] 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.