A catalogue of the families Stenogastridae and Vespidae from the Indian subregion (Hymenoptera: Vespoidea)

Abstract

Members of the families Stenogastridae and Vespidae belong to the Vespiformis Group of the superfamily Vespoidea. There is no recent catalog or even a check-list of species of these families covering the Indian subregion. The only available reference is “The Fauna of British India” Vol. I, by C.T. Bingham (1897), where the family Vespidae also included the members of the family Stenogastridae (as recognized here) under the genus Ischnogaster Guérin (now known as Sternogaster Guérin. Bingham treated 7 genera comprising 47 species. Dalla Torre (1904) largely followed Bingham's classification and included 51 species in 7 genera from the Indian subregion. Aiyar (1916) in his catalogue of wasps and bees (Fossores, Diploptera and Anthophila) of the Indian Region since 1897, included 47 species in 4 genera and also followed Bingham's classification. Liu (1936–37), in his catalogue of the Vespidae of China recorded 21 valid species under 5 genera from India and the neighboring countries. In the present catalogue, which covers the Indian subregion, the family Vespidae is divided into two subfamilies, and includes 83 species under 9 genera, and the family Stenogastridae includes 6 species under 3 genera.