First European records of an alien paper wasp: Polistes ( Aphanilopterus ) major Palisot de Beauvois, 1818 (Hymenoptera: Vespidae) in northern Spain

Abstract

The cosmopolitan genus Polistes Latreille is one of the most diverse among vespids (ca . 220 species: Carpenter 2008, updated). There are 10 native Polistes spp. in Europe, all in the nominotypical subgenus (Carpenter 1996a, updated), while no European records of exotic Polistinae have been published (Rasplus et al. 2010). Here we report the occurrence of a reproductively active population of the American paper wasp Polistes major major Palisot de Beauvois in northern Spain, constituting the first record of an introduced Polistes in Europe. Also, we present a diagnosis of P. major and discuss the potential pathways for introduction into Europe and the possible impacts that it may generate at its new location.