THREE NEW SPECIES OF POLISTES LATREILLE (HYMENOPTERA: VESPIDAE) FROM PAPUA NEW GUINEA, WITH NOTES ON THE TAXONOMIC STATUS OF THE SUBGENUS STENOPOLISTES VAN DER VECHT

Abstract
Three new species of Polistes Latreille are described from Papua New Guinea. Of these, P. occultus sp. n. largely fits the diagnosis of the subgenus Stenopolistes van der Vecht. However, while P. watutus sp. n. and P. medius sp. n. have the jugal lobe of the hind wing defined by a wide incision (an apomorphic character of Stenopolistes ), in the other characters distinguishing Stenopolistes and the subgenus Polistella Ashmead have states typical of Polistella. If Stenopolistes is regarded as a subgenus, then Polistella is defined only by a symplesiomorphy, thus Stenopolistes must be synonymised under Polistella.