Early male production is not linked to a reproductive strategy in the Japanese paper wasp,<Emphasis Type="Italic"> Polistes chinensis antennalis</Emphasis> (Hymenoptera: Vespidae)

Diploid males in haplo-diploid insects are sterile, because they produce diploid sperm. Our previous report revealed that early males of the Japanese paper wasp Polistes chinensis antennalis are diploid but did not reveal how often this occurs. We analyzed the genotypes of early males using six microsatellite markers. Two of the 41 early males (5%) from six colonies were haploid, but the other males were diploid. This evidence suggests that we can ignore the reproductive success of the early males of P. chinensis antennalis.