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 CC25A6CB-0783-4917-BEF7-0F332F6451F5 Polistes ( Epicnemius ) testaceicolor Bequaert, 1937 (Figs 75, 76) Polistes testaceicolor Bequaert, 1937: 179 , ♀ . Diagnosis. Female. Body pigmentation light brown with yellow bands, last terga darker than body color. Wings pigmentation hyaline and matte. Intermediate size, about 20 mm in total length. Clypeus long than wider, with long bristles located only in the inferior region, and punctures medium-sized, deep present only in the apical region, apex pointed, clypeus-eye touching for an extent equal to or greater than width of antennal socket; gena width at midlength equal to or slightly wider than eye; occipital carina strong, extending through entire gena; humeri slightly projecting; dorsal groove incomplete; mesepisternum with short and dense bristles small and shallow punctation; propodeal concavity and striae absent; tergum I longer than wide, with short and dense bristles, and strong, medium sized, and deep punctures; tergum II wider or as wide as long, with short and dense bristles, weakly punctate. Male. Similar to the females, except for the contact between the clypeus and the eye, with a width smaller than the diameter of the antennal socket. Material examined . 10♀ , 1♂ in total. Brazil : Amazonas , 3♀ ( INPA ); Maranhão , 1♀ ( INPA ); Pará , 1♀ ( INPA ) , 2♀ ( MNB ) , 1♀ ( MNHN ) , 1♀ ( MZSP ) ; 1♀ , 1♂ ( NHM ) . Distribution. Brazil : Acre , Amapá , Amazonas, Maranhão , Mato Grosso , Pará, Rondônia , Roraima ; Costa Rica ; Colombia ; Venezuela ; Guyana ; Suriname ; French Guiana ; Ecuador ; Peru ; Bolivia .