The genus Polistes Latreille, 1802 (Hymenoptera: Vespidae) of Brazil: morphological diagnoses, identification key, and geographical distribution Author Brito, Samanta 0000-0002-0945-6894 Instituto Nacional de Pesquisas da Amazônia, Coordenação de Biodiversidade, Manaus, AM, Brazil brito.samanta25@gmail.com Author Oliveira, Marcio L. 0000-0002-3950-1086 Instituto Nacional de Pesquisas da Amazônia, Coordenação de Biodiversidade, Manaus, AM, Brazil mlolivei@inpa.gov.br Author Carpenter, James M. 0000-0001-6754-8028 American Museum of Natural History, Division of Invertebrate Zoology, New York, USA carpente@amnh.org Author Somavilla, Alexandre Instituto Nacional de Pesquisas da Amazônia, Coordenação de Biodiversidade, Manaus, AM, Brazil text Zootaxa 2024 2024-08-21 5496 4 509 545 http://dx.doi.org/10.11646/zootaxa.5496.4.3 journal article 10.11646/zootaxa.5496.4.3 1175-5326 13617543 CC25A6CB-0783-4917-BEF7-0F332F6451F5 Polistes ( Onerarius ) carnifex ( Fabricius, 1775 ) ( Figs 81, 82 ) Vespa carnifex Fabricius, 1775: 365 , ♀ , ♂ . FIGURES 77–86 . Polistes spp. 77, 78. P. ( Epicnemius ) thoracicus Fox. 79, 80. P. ( E. ) torresae Silveira. 81, 82. P. ( Onerarius ) carnifex (Fabricius) . 83, 84. P. ( Palisotius ) major Palisot de Beauvois. 85, 86. P. ( P. ) paraguayensis Bertoni. 77, 79, 81, 83, 85. Dorsal view.78, 80, 82, 84, 86. Lateral view. Scale bars: 5 mm. Diagnosis. Female. Body pigmentation yellowish to light brown. Wing pigmentation reddish to brown. Very robust size, more than 30 mm in total length. Clypeus slightly wider than long or as long as wide, bristles, in the entire length or only in the lower region, but short bristles at its base becoming long toward the apex, punctures medium-sized, deep present only in the apical region, apex pointed, clypeus-eye in contact for a width smaller than the diameter of the antennal socket or be slightly separated; gena width at midlength equal to or slightly wider than eye; occipital carina strong, extending to middle eye level; humeri slightly projecting; mesepisternum with short and dense bristles, medium and deep punctation small; propodeal concavity widely extended in the center, propodeal striae strong in the center and weak on the sides; tergum I longer than wide, with short and dense bristles, and weak, small, and shallow punctures; tergum II wider or as wide as long, with short and dense bristles, weakly punctate. Male. Similar to females, except that clypeus is separated from the eye. Material examined . 20♀ , 2♂ in total. Brazil : Alagoas , 1♀ ( AMNH ); Mato Grosso , 1♀ ( AMNH ) , 13♀ ( NHM ); Minas Gerais , 1♀ ( AMNH ); Pará , 1♂ ( AMNH ); Paraná , 2♀ ( NHM ); Rio de Janeiro , 2♀ ( AMNH ); Rio Grande do Sul , 1♀ ( NHM ) , 1♀ ( CESC ); São Paulo , 1♂ ( MZSP ) . Distribution. Brazil : Alagoas , Amapá , Amazonas, Bahia , Espírito Santo , Goiás , Maranhão , Mato Grosso , Minas Gerais , Pará, Paraná , Pernambuco , Rio de Janeiro , Rio Grande do Norte , Rio Grande do Sul , Roraima , Santa Catarina , São Paulo ; USA ; Mexico ; Belize ; Guatemala ; Honduras ; Nicaragua ; Costa Rica ; Panama ; Colombia ; Guyana ; Suriname ; Ecuador ; Peru ; Paraguay ; Argentina . Comments. There are three subspecies; two occur in Brazil : P. carnifex carnifex (Fabricius) and P. carnifex rufipennis Latreille.