ENTOMOLOGICAL SOC. OF BRITISH COLUMBIA, PROC. (1949), VOL. 46, MAY 15, 1950 33

THE SOCIAL WASPS (VESPIDAE) OF BRITISH COLUMBIAl'

E. R. B UCKELL Dominion Entomological Laboratory, Kamloops, B. C. AND G. J. SPENCER University of British Columbia, Vancouver, B. C. This paper on the social wasps of etts. for their determination. Frequent British Columbia has been prepared use has been made of Dr. Bequaert's from the collections in the Field Crop publications on the Vespidae (1931- Insect Laboratory, Kamloops, and the 1942), and many points of int,erest University of British Columbia, Van­ therein have been included in this paper. couver. The majority of the specimens were collected by the authors who are The localities from which material greatly indebted to Dr. J. Bequaert, has been recorded have been listed and Museum of Comparative Zoology, Har­ marked by a number on the accompany­ vard College, Cambridge, Massachus- ing map.

Family VESPIDAE Vespa alascensis Packard, 1870, Trans. Chi­ cago Ac. Sci .• II. p. 27, PI. II. fig. 10 (I'; Subfamily VESPINAE (Lower Yukon, Alaska). Genus VESPULA C. G. Thomson Vespa westwoodii Shipp, 1893, Psyche, VI. The genus Vespula, with its two sub­ p. 450 (Boreal America). LOCALITIES - Vernon, Salmon Arm, Celista, genera, Vespula and Dolichovespula, in­ Squilax. Adams Lake, Chase, Kamloops, cludes the well known and pugnacious Douglas Lake, Minnie Lake, Bridge Lake, yellow-jackets and hornets. 100 Mile House, Canim Lake, Chilcotin, Alexandria, Quesnel. Barkerville, Prince The paper nests of yellow -jackets and George, Burns Lake, Yale, Skidegate. those of the large black and white, bald­ MATERIAL EXAMINED-24I' • 6 7 ~, 5 o. faced hornet are well known objects. A nest of V, vulgaris was found on The nesting habits of the species vary. September 26, 1943. in the ground on a They may be placed below ground, grassy slope in a stand of big timber on hanging from ceilings or between the Wheeler mountain near Kamloops. It walls of buildings, or suspended from had originally been as big as a man's the limbs of shrubs or trees from ground head but had been dug out by a bear and level up to considerable heights. They anI y a portion of the nest wall remained contain several horizontal strata of cells with a few wasps still present on it, enveloped by an outer covering of paper The paper of this nest had been made layers made of pulp gnawed from dry from the bark of the western yellow wood by the worker wasps. There is pine and was a beautiful golde~ yellow usually but one entrance hole placed colour with rich brown markmgs. It terminally or slightly laterally. differed considerably from the ordinary Wasps vary in abundance from year tough. grey paper of nests made by other to year and may sometimes occur in such species. and was quite brittle and flaky, numbers as to be a serious pest of fruit J, Bequaert ( 1931) in discussing and a great nuisance to people, as they nests of this species. records that a nest are quick tempered and their stings are dug up at Cold Spring Harbour. N. Y.. painful. by Mr. R. P. Dow, contained pupae of Subgenus Vespula the ichneumonid. Sphecophaga burra (Cresson) in some of the cells. "Before Vespula vulgaris (Linnaeus) Vespa vulgaris Linnaeus, 1758, Syst. Nat.. pupating, the larva of this parasite closes 10th Ed., I. p. 572. the cell, some distance below the top. Vespa communis H. de Saussure. 1857, Stet­ with a brownish. silken partition. show­ tin. Ent. Zeitg .• XVIII. p. 117 ('f; North America) . ing a slightly depressed. translucid circle in the centre." po Contribution No. 2567, Division of Entomology, At Lac du Bois. Kamloops. during Science Senice. Department of Agriculture. Ottawa, ('anada. the last week in August. 1946. a small 34 ENTOMOLOGICAL SOC . OF BRITISH COLUMB IA. PROC. (1949) . Val.. 46. MAY 15. 1950 nest of Vespula spp .. only some 6 inches out and eaten by a bear and the remain­ in diameter was poisoned at night with ing wasps had built up small nest areas calcium cyanide dust from a hand duster. at the side of the open hole. The fourth It was a very weak colony and the few ground nest had a well-defined mud wasps present fell out into long grass collar at the entrance and was at the base when the nes t was cut down from a low of a large rock on open rangeland. When trembling aspen. The combs were ex­ dug up on September 14 it contained amined shortly afterwards and nearly mainly queens and males. 20 cells contained brownish-yellow par­ Between the walls of houses where titions, exactly like those described it is completely dark. appears to be an­ above. The tiers nea r the top of the other favorite nesting site for this species. nest were honeycombed by smail lepi­ Two such nests were found in 1943 at dopterous larvae which had spun a small Salmon Arm. In the first instance the amount of loose silk. As far as possible. nesting site was entered through a crack all the cyanide was at once shaken out in a window casing some 12 fee t from and the nest was well aired and retained the ground and in the second instance in a cage to secure emergence of the para­ the wasps were entering through a nar­ sites and the moth scavengers but no row crack under the eaves. adults of any kind were obtained. It Bequaert (1931) states that in G. was noted that all of the silken parasite W. T aylor's account (1898). he men­ cocoon caps were slightly obliquely tions capturing 23 males and 4 females placed : none was at right angles to the of an interesting parasi tic wasp. Trigon­ axis of the cell. alys canadensis Harrington, at the en­ Vespula pensylvanica (H . de Saussure) . trance of V. pensyluanica nests in Brit­ Vespa pensylvanica H. de Saussure. 1857, ish Columbia. Stettin E nt. Zeitg. , XVIII. p . J 17 ('i'; North America. Canada and the mountains Vespula rufa var. atropilosa (Sladen) of Mexico). R. d u Buysson. J 905. Ann. Vespa atropilosa Sladen. 19 18. Ottawa Natur­ Soc. Ent. France, LXXIII, 4. ( 1904). p. alist. XXXII. p. 72 ('i' 1;\; Lethbridge. 6 15 ('i' 1;\ 6 ). Alberta; Vernon . Keremeos and Okanagan ifespa occidentalis Cresson. 1874 . T rans. Landing. British Columbia). Amer. E nt. Soc. , V . p. 100 ( 'i' 1;\. erro­ LOCALITIES - Fairview. Keremeos, Okanagan neously described as 'i' Cl ; Nevada and New Landing, Vernon . Salmon Arm. Adams Mexico). Not Vespa occidentalis Olivier. Lake. Kamloops, Douglas Lake. M innie 179 1. Lake. L ytton . Vancouver. LOCALITIES - Kaslo. O liver. Penticton. Sum­ MATER IAL EXAM INED-43'.' . 6 21;\. 35 0 . merland, Vernon. Salmon Arm. Celista. Adams Lake. Squilax. Chase. Prichard. Two nests of this wasp were exam­ Kamloops. Douglas Lake. Minnie Lake, ined on August 17. 1943: they were Lytton. Lillooet. Bridge Lake. Chilcotin, Quesnel. Barkerville. Vancouver. Gran­ built well below ground in a ditch bank. tham 's Landing. Victoria. Cowichan Lake. One nest was small. and contained Sidney . Departure Bay. only queens and workers. but the other MATER IAL EXAMINED-62 'i' . 154 1;\ . 59 0 . one was large and contained at least 50 Six nests of this species w ere exam­ queens, as well as many workers and ined in 1943, four of which were in the males . ground and two between the walls of The queens and workers in this nest wooden houses. showed very little variation in colour Of the nests in the ground, one was pattern but the males had two distinct in a ditch bank. and contained on colour patterns on the second tergite, i. e., similar to the queens. and with the August. many cr and 1;\ but only one 'i', black area enclosing yellow spots. Two whose wings had bee n chewed off. The males were unusual, one being very second was under a rotten birch stump h eavil y marked with black as in var. and had bee n torn out and eaten by a sladeni, and the other very light as in bear. The few remaining wasps were the queens. Two queens were wingless, busy repairing the nes t and building the wings having failed to form . again although fully exposed to the sun­ This is a bright yellow and black light. The third nest had also bee n dug wasp of large size. ENTOMOLOGICAL SOc. OF BRITISH COLUMBIA, PROC. (1949), VOL. 46, MAY 15, 1950 35

Vespula rufa var. sladeni Bequaert. Vespula austriacC! (Panzer). LOCALITIES-Revelstoke, Chase, Douglas Lake, Vespa austriaca Panzer. 1799, Faun. Ins. Kamloops. Minnie Lake, Quesnel. Tyee. German, VI. p. 63. PI. II (0; Vienna. Prince Rupert, Vancouver. Austria) . MATERIAL EXAMINED-19'i', 10ii, 100'. Vespa borealis F. Smith. 1843. The Zoolo­ gist, I. p. 170. Not Vespa borealis W. This is a western form described by Kirby, 1837. nor of Zetterstedt, 1840. Bequaert (1931) as an extreme melan­ Vespa acborea F. Smith, 1849. The Zoolo­ gist, VII. Appendix. p. 1 x (substitute istic variation of var. atropilosa, and name for Vespa borealis F. Smith. 1843). often resembles the two eastern varieties, Vespa tripunctata Packard, 1870, Trans. Chi­ acadica (Sladen) and vidua (H. de cago Ac. Sci., II, p. 26, PI. II. fig. II (holo­ type 'i' of Kutleet. Alaska, only). Not Saussure) . Vespa tcipunctata Fabricius, 1787, nor of This wasp appears to be far less com­ Schenck, 1 861. mon than the other varieties of V. rufa Vespa infernalis H. de Saussure. 1853. EI. which occur in British Columbia, name­ Fam. Vesp., II, p. 139. ly, atropilosa and consobrina. It is to be LOCALITIES-Bridge Lake, Kamloops. Bequaert also records this species from Beavermouth, found more frequently in the humid Field, and Kaslo. coastal areas around Vancouver and Of this species Bequaert ( 193 1 ) Prince Rupert than in the dry interior. states: "V. austriaca has no worker The queens may be found visiting phase. It is a so-called social parasite or the flowers of certain ornamental shrubs inquiline wasp, which builds no nest of in Stanley Park, Vancouver, in April its own, but has its brood raised by the and May; later in the season the workers workers of other species of Vespula. In may be seen entering and leaving their the Palearctic Region the host-species is nests, which are placed underground. Vespula rufa (Linnaeus), in the nests Vespulc rufa var. consobrina (H. de Saussure) of which the females and males of V. Vespa consobrina H. de Saussure. 1853, Et. Fam. Vesp., II, p. 141 (ii; Newfound­ austriaca have been found repeatedly. land) . In North America, the host is as yet un­ Vespa arenaria H. de Saussure. 1853 Et. Fam. known, but since typical V. rufa does Vesp., II. p. 134, (ii; North America). Not Vespa arenaria Fabricius, 1775. not exist here, I suspect that it must be Vespa scelesta McFarland. 1888. Trans, one of the most common American Amer. Ent. Soc., XV, p. 298. Cresson. forms of V. rufa (vidua, atropilosa or 1928. Mem. Amer. Em. Soc., No.5. p. 57. consobrina) ." Vespa sulcata L. O. Howard. 1901, The In­ sect Book, PI. VI. fig. 18. The queen of austriaca is very similar LOCALITIES - Kaslo. Vernon. Beavermouth. in general appearance to rufa var. con­ Reve1stoke. Salmon Arm. Celista. Squilax. sobrina, both having a peculiar black­ Adams Lake. Chase. Kamloops. Douglas and-yellow pattern on the second ab­ Lake. Minnie Lake. Bridge Lake, Chilcotin. Quesnel, Prince George. Smithers. Terrace. dominal segment, but may be distin­ Hazelton. Hope. Vancouver. Victoria. guished from the queen of all forms of Royal Oak. Sidney. Courtenay. V. rufa in the long pilosity on the outer \CIATFRIAL E XAMINFD-4 5 'i', 86 ii, 57=. side of the tibiae and in the pointed This is a rather small, black wasp apical angles of the clypeus. with pale white or ivory white mark­ Subgenus Dolichovespula Rohwer Vespula maculata (Linnaeus). ings in marked contract to var. atropi­ Vespa mawlata Linnaeus. J 763. Cent. Insect losa. a large, brightly marked, yellow Rar .. p. 3 O. Not Vespa maw lata Scopoli. and black insect. The var. sladeni is 1763; nor of Drury. 1773. intermediate in general coloration be­ Vespa mawlata americana Christ. 1791. Naturgesch. Insekt. Dom Bienen. Wespen tween atropilosa and consobrina, and it and Ameisengeschl., p. 239. is hard, at first sight, to realize that LOCALITIES-Fairmont, Kaslo. Vernon. Salmon these three wasps belong to one and the Arm. Squilax. Adams Lake. Chase. Kam­ same species. This is the commonest of loops. Douglas Lake. Walhachin. Lytton. Bridge Lake. Chilcotin, QuesneL Prince the varieties of V. rufa found in British George. Prince Rupert. Vancouver. ('i' fly­ Columbia. ing in mid-March). Buccaneer Bay. Gran­ In the specimens examined the colour tham's Landing. Vancouver Island. pattern is extremely uniform in con­ MA TERIAL FXAMINED-56 'i', 66 \?, 1 90. sobrina, while sladeni and atropilosa This is the common, and well show considerable variation. known, black, or bald-faced hornet, and 36 ENTOMOLOGICAL SOe. OF BRITISH COLUMBIA, PROe. (1949), VOL. 46, MAY 15, 1950 it occurs everywhere throughout British In 1943, a year of great wasp abun­ Columbia, It is particularly common dance, three nests of typical arenaria in fruit growing areas. and causes much were dug out of a ditch bank at Kam­ annoyance by building its paper nest in loops on August 17; on July 4 a nest apple trees. to the great discomfort of was found in complete darkness. be­ the apple pickers at harvest time. as its tween the walls of a house. The wasps sting is very severe and painful. were entering through a knot hole and The bald-faced hornet nests above 14'i were taken, all typical arenaria. ground and its nests. often of large Nests in semi-darkness were found in an size. may be found hanging from the old deserted building. hanging from the boughs of trees. sometimes high above rafters, and another was hanging from [he ground. or low down in the base of the end of a log which had slipped down a bush almost touching the ground, the mouth of an old well and was com­ Bequaert (1931) reports that the pletely obscured from direct light by ichneumonid parasite. Sphecophaga bur­ thick bushes. On July 20 a nest hang­ ca (Cresson) (=Sphecophagus praeda­ ing from a birch limb, 8 ft. from the lor Zabriskie). has been bred from the ground. was taken which contained cells of this species, many workers and two males but no Vespula arenaria (Fabricius) . queens and on August 8 another nest on Vespa arenaria Fabriius, 1775, Syst. Entom ., a birch limb, 6 ft. from the ground was p. 365 (no sex; America) . Not of most American writers. knocked down and some wasps caught Vespa (Dolichovespula) armaria J. Bequacrt. in a net. They consisted of one male 1928. Bull. Brooklyn Ent. Soc., XXII. p . and 29 workers, all typical arenaria. 54 (~; holotype). From observations to date, it would Vespa borealis W. Kirby. 1837, Fauna Bore­ ali-Americana, IV. p. 264. Not Vespa seem that in British Columbia, this borealis Zetterstedt, 1840; F. Smith, 1843 ; wasp nests in underground, or dark Lew is, 1897 . positions, very nearly as often as in Vespa diabolica H. de Saussure, 1853. Et. open, exposed locations. J. Bequaert Fam. Vesp. II. p. 138 ( I' ~; North America) . ( 1931) reports that it is questionable LOCALITIES-Kaslo, Nelson, Osoyoos, V ernon, whether V. arena ria ever builts its nest Glacier, Salmon Arm, Celista, Squilax, actually underground or inside old Adams Lake, Chase, Kamloops, Douglas stumps or logs. He also records that W. L ake, lYIinnie Lake, Clinton, Bridge Lake, Chilcotin , Gang Ranch, Quesnel. Barker­ M . Wheeler and L. H. Taylor (1921) ville, Prince George. Smilhers, Prince Ru­ found that Vespula adulterina var. arc­ pert, Vancouver, Victoria. fica Rohwer was an inquiline in the !viA TERIAL EXAMINED--92 1', 1 8 0 ~, 40 0' . nests of V. arenaria. This is the commonest of the yellow­ This little yellow-jacket is particular­ jackets of British Columbia. From the ly pugnacious and liable to sting when specimens collected and the nests exam­ its nest is approached. and well deserves ined V . arenaria far outnumbers its the name diabolica given by Saunders. xanthic variation V. arenaria var. fer­ Vespula arenaria var. fernaldi (Lewis) naldt', although both can frequently be Vespa fernaldi Lewis, 1879, Trans. Amer. Ent. Soc., XXIV, pp. 171 and 173 (<;> 'i; found mixed together in the same nest. Colorado) . A large number of arenaria nests have LOCALITIES - Vernon, Squilax, Adams Lake, been taken and the inhabitants identi­ Kamloops, Douglas Lake, Cedarvale, Van­ fied. They have been found in every couver, Courtenay. type of environment from nests well MATERIAL EXAMINED--28 1', 35<;5, 4 0 . below ground and in house walls in As Bequaert (1931) states. this is complete darkness to semi-dark loca­ merely a xanthic variation of V. are­ tions, such as in mouse nests, broken naria, especially notable for the presence down root-houses, wells, and old build­ of two yellow spots on the propodeum. ings, to aerial nests hanging down from The remarks concerning the nesting the boughs of trees at considerable habits of V. arenaria apply equally well heights. as well as in low bushes. to the var. fernaldi and. as a matter of A short description of the following fact, no nests containing only fernaldi nests will illustrate this point. have as yet been seen by the authors. ENTOMOLOGICAL SOC. OF BRITISH COLUMBIA. PROC. (1949). VOL. 46. MAY 15. 1950 37

The following descriptions of nests con­ Pseudovespa adultenna Bischoff. 1931. Su­ zungsber. Ges. Naturf. Fr. Berlin. (1930). taining fernaldi which were taken and pp. 330-334. examined. will show the range of nest­ Vespula norvegica saxonica natio colchica ing sites. Birula. 1930. Ann. Mus. Zool. Ac. Sci. On August 20, 1943, a nest was dug U.R.S.S., XXXI. 2. p. 314. out of a ditch bank containing a large LOCALITIES - Summerland. Vernon. Minnie Lake. Bridge Lake. Vancouver. number of arenaria, of which about one MA TERIAL EXAMINED-8 'i' . third were var. fernaldi. On the same Of this wasp J. Bequaert (1931)· day another nest was taken from a beam states: "V. adulterina and its var. arc­ in an old root-house, whose roof had tiea are inquilines or social parasites. caved in admitting some light. This which lack the worker phase and have nest contained many queens and w'orkers their brood reared by other social species an? a few males, the 'great majority of Vespula. They are. in the subgenus bemg var. fernaldi. On July 29, 1943, Dolichouespula, the exact counterpart of a small wasps' nest was found in a V. austnaca (Panzer) in the subgenus mouse nest on the surface of the ground F espula. proper." under a pile of bark. It contained 5 On July 21. 1944, a small wasps' workers of typical arenaria, and one queen and 26 workers of var. fernaldi. nest about the size of a golf ball. was On September 18, 1943, a nest hanging found on the ground under a piece of board, near Minnie Lake in the Nicola from a dead poplar bough, eight feet Valley. A cyanide jar was placed over from the ground, was examined. The this nest before any of the inmates could wasps had been killed off by. frost and escape. On examination it was found only 1 'i', 1 ~ and 1 were found in the nest. The male was a typical arenaria to contain four very small workers of and the queen and worker typical var. V. arena ria and a female V. adulterina fernaldi. with its wings gnawed off at their bases, So far very few' var. fernaldi males but no arenaria queen. It is assumed have been seen, but whether this is the that when the adulterina entered so usual situation or mere coincidence, we small a nest the arenaria queen had do not know. gnawed off the intruder's wings, but had hersel.f been killed in the ensuing fight. Vespula norwegica var. norvegicoides (Sladen). or dnven away. Vespula norvegicoides Sladen. f9 1 8. Ottawa Nattlralist, XXXII. p. 71. ('i' 0; Nova Vespula adulterina var. arctica Rohwer. Scotia to British Columbia). Vespula (Dolischvespula) arctica Rohwer. 1916. in Viereck. Guide to the Insects ol LOCALITJES-:-Revelstoke. Kamloops, Birch Is­ Connecticut. III. Hymenoptera. p. 642 land. MmnI~ Lake. Bridge Lake. Quesnel, Hazelton. Kltwanga. Tyee. Prince Rupert. (new name for Vespa borealis Lewis) . Vespa borealis Lewis. 1897. Trans. Amer. Mt. Cheam. Agassiz. Vancouver. Courte­ nay. Ent. Soc .• XXIV, pp. 171 and 174. Not Vespa borealis W. Kirby. 1837. MATERIAL EXAMINED-26'i'. 15~. 40. LOCALlTIES-Kaslo. Minnie Lake. Prince Ru­ As far as can be ascertained this is the pert. only variety of norwegica so far record­ MATERIAL EXAMINED-2 'I, 1 c"- ed from British Columbia, but var. al­ This wasp, var. arctica. is said to be a bida (Sladen) may occur in extreme permanent social parasite in the nests of northern B. C. as it has been recorded V. arenaria where its brood. consisting from Alaska and Yukon Territory as only of males and fertile females, are var. margcnata. a synonym of albida (J. reared by the arenaria workers. Bequaert, 1935). Vespula adulterina CR. du Buysson). Subfamily POLISTINAE Vespa norwegica var. adulterina R. du Buys­ "The Polistinae are a cosmopolitan son. 1905. Ann. Soc. Ent. France. LXXIII. group consisting of a single genus, Po­ (1904). pp. 600 and 628. Vespa saxonica var. adulterina Bischoff 1927 listes, with many. rather closely allied Biologie der Hymenopteren. p. 404'. (sug~ species. In the Nearctic Regina this gests that it is a distinct species. parasitic genus comprises not more than half a upon V. saxonica). Vespa adulterina Bischoff. 1931. Mitt dozen species distinguishable by pecu- Deutsch. Ent. Geo., II. p. 6. 1iarities of structure; but some of these ." 8 ENTOMOLOGJCAL Soc. OF BRITISH COLUMBIA, PROC. (1949), VOL. 46, MAY 15, 1950 species vary tremendously in color (Be­ Polistes fuscotU5 var. montonus Bequaert. quaert, 1932). In all social species of LOCALITIES - Fairmont, Creston, Keremeos, Summerland, Vernon, Salmon Arm, Kam­ Polistes with which I am acquainted, loops, Walhachin, Lillooet, Powell River, the workers (when present) and fertile Victoria, Departure Bay, Cowichan Lake. females (or queens) are alike, both in MATERIAL EXAMINED-23 'i' <;i, 10:1. structure and color and often also in Bequaert (1940) recorded montanus size. It is generally assumed that the from Montana, Idaho and Oregon. In smaller females, sometimes found in the southern British Columbia i~ has been colony, are workers. Moreover, even taken by the authors from the Alberta unmated females (or workers) may oc­ boundary to Vancouver Island. casionally lay eggs, which develop by Transitional between ourifer and montonu5 parthenogenesis into male wasps." (Be­ LOCALITIES-Oliver, Summerland, Vernon, Sal- quaert, 1940). mon Arm, Kamloops, Walhachin, Lillooet. Only one species, Polistes fuscatus MATERIAL EXAMINED-62 'i' <;i • (Fabricius), occurs in Canada. This Polistes fuscatus is a very common species has been divided into some 18 wasp in southern British Columbia and colour forms .(Bequaert, 1940), of is particularly conspicuous in early which, only Polistes fuscatus var. auri­ spring, as it is one of the earliest of all fer de Saussure and Polistes fuscatus var. hibernating insects to appear. At this montanus Bequaert, and intermediates time it may be seen crawling sluggishly between these forms, are found in Brit­ about on pavements and walls, and ish Columbia. appears in buildings where it has been One specimen of Polistes fuscatus var. hibernating. The overwintering queens pallipes Lepeletier was collected by Mr. will be active a month or six weeks L. W. Cockle (27.X.1907) at Kaslo, ahead of any of the yellow-jackets or on Kootenay Lake. The determination hornets. was made by Dr. J. Bequaert, who In temperament, it is the reverse of states that it was no doubt an accidental the yellow-jackets, being a slow-mov­ introduction from the Eastern (Atlan­ ing, friendly insect, whose nest may be tic) area. As it was taken in late Octo­ approached without much chance of ber, it could easily have reached Kaslo being attacked. in a packing case or parcel into which it It is very fond of attaching its uncov­ had crawled for hibernation. ered, single layer of cells, to the ceiling of sheds, where the light is subdued. Genus POLISTES Latreille Sometimes a number of Polistes nests Polistes fuscotus var. ourifer de Saussure. may be seen in close proximity under LOCALITIES - Cranbrook, Kitchener, Creston. Kaslo, Oliver, Penticton. Vernon, Salmon the same roof. Arm. Kamloops, Walhachin, Victoria, Shalalth, Vancouver, Lytton, Lillooet, Subfamily POL YBIINAE Chilcotin (G. J. Spencer, 26.V.1929, 1'(, 52°N.), farthest north for any American The Polybiinae are essentially a trop­ Po/isles (Bequaert, 1940). ical subfamily. Only three species are ~IA TERIAL EXAMINED-6 I I' <;i, 20:. known to occur within the United Bequaert (1940) records aurifer as States, and of these, only one, Mischo­ the common form of the species through­ cyttarus fiauitarsis (H. de Saussure) ex­ out California, Oregon and Washing­ tends into Canada (Bequaert, 1932). ton, extending well into southern Brit­ Genus MISCHOCYTTARUS H. de Saussure ish Columbia, as well as int,o Idaho and Nevada. The collection records show Mischocyttoru~ flavitorsis var. idohoensis Bequaert. that this colour form occurs from the LOCALITIES - Victoria, Goldstream, Nanaimo, Alberta boundary westward through Newcastle. Saanich, on Vancouver Island; the Kootenay district, the Okanagan Pender Harbour, Vancouver, Lytton, Wal­ Valley, the southern interior to t,he hachin, Kamloops. Salmon Arm, Vernon, Pacific coast and Vancouver Island, and Kelowna, Westbank. Beq uaert (I 932) records Sooke Rock and north up the Fraser River to Lytton, Danby on Vancouver Island and the fol­ Lillooet and Chilcotin. lowing additional mainland localities: ENTOMOLOGICAL SOC. OF BRITISH COLUMBIA, PROC. (1949), VOL. 46, MAY 15, 1950 39

Osoyoos, Oliver, Keremcos, Summerland, guished by the first abdominal segment Westbank, Okanagan Falls and Lillooet. being much narrower than the remain­ MATERIAL EXAMINED-22'i' l;i, 7e!. der of the abdomen, forming a long and This wasp is not as common as slender petiole. Polistes fuscatus but is generally distrib­ The nests of M. fiauitarsis are said to uted over southern British Columbia be smalL single-combed, un-enveloped and Vancouver Island, and is the only paper nests, usually smaller than Po­ form of the species occurring in the listes, placed under rocks, logs, caves, Province. banks and in buildings, and its food to I t is similar in appearance and habits consist largely of insects. CBequaert, to Polistes fuscatus, but may be distin- 1932) .

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REFERENCES Bequaert, J. 1931. A tentative synopsis of the hornets and yellow-jackets (\fespinae: Hymenop­ tera) of America. Entomologica Americana, 12(2) :71-138. 1932. The nearctic social wasps of the sub-family Polybiinae (Hymenoptera: \fespidae) Entomo1ogica Americana, 13 (3) :87-150. 1935. Additions and corrections to the revision of North American \fespinae (Entomo1ogica Americana, 1932) Bull. Brooklyn Ent. Soc., 30 (3) : 11 9-124. 1940. An introductory study of Polistes in the United States' and Canada with descriptions of some new North and South American forms (Hymenoptera: \fespidae) Jour. New York Ent. Soc., 48:1-31. 1942. A new color form of Polistes fuscal us from Canada. Can. Ent.. 74 (9) : 159 - 161. Taylor, G. W. 1898. Note on Trigonalys canadensis Hargtn. Can. Ent., 30:14. Wheeler, W. M. and Taylor, L. H. 1921. \fespa arctica Rohwer, a parasite of \fespa diabolica de Saussure. Psyche, 28(5-6):135-144. 40 ENTOMOLOGICAL SOc. OF BRITISH COLUMBIA , PROC. (1949) , VOL. 46, MAy 15 . 1950

Arranged alphabetically; the numbe rs corresponding to those on the accompanying map. (V. I. = Vancouver Island. ) I. Adams Lake 20. Departure Bay, V. I. 39 . Lytton 58. Saanich, V.1. 2. Agassiz 2 1. Douglas Lake 40. Minnie Lake 59. Salmon Arm '\ . Alexandria 22. Fairmont 41. Mt. Cheam 60. Shalalth 4 . Barkerville 23. Fairview -1 2. N anaimo. V. J. 61. Sidney, V. 1. 5. Beavermouth 24. Field 4 3 . Nelson 62. Skidegate 6. Birch Island 25. Gang Ranch 44. Newcastle. V. I. 63. Smithers 7. Bridge Lake 26 . Glacier 45. Okanagan ralls 64. Squilax 8. Buccaneer Bay 27 . Goldstream. V.1. 46.,., . O kanagan Landing 65. Sooke. V.1. 9. Burns Lake 28. Grantham's Landing -" . Oliver 66. Summerl and 10. Canim Lake 29. Hazelto n 48. Osoyoos 67. Terrace 11. Cedarvale 30. Hope 49 . Pender Harbo ur 68. T yee 12. Celi sta 3 1. 100 M il e House 50. Pentieton 69. Vancouver I '\. Chase .> 2. Kamloo ps 51. Powell River 70. Vernon 14. Chilcotin 3'\ . Kaslo 52 P richard 7 1. Victoria 15. Clinton 34. Kelowna 53. P rince George 72. Walhaehin 16. Courtenay, V. I. ; 5. Keremeos 54. P rince Rupert 73. Westbank 17 . Cowie han Lake, V. I. ) 6. Kitehencr 55. Quesnel 74. Yale 18. Cranbrook ) 7. Kitwanga 56. Revelstoke I

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BOOK REVIEW " A Century of Entomology in the British Columbia. Dr. Brittain held Pacific N orthwest," by Melville H. the dual position of Provincial Ento­ Hatch, University of Washington Press. mologist and Plant Pathologist at Ver­ Seattle 5. $ 1. 50. non from 1 9 12 to 19 13 when he re­ signed on accepting the post of ~rovin c I n this little book of 43 pages Dr. cial Entomologist for Nova Scotia. Mr. Ha tch has brought together for the first Ruhmann was appointed assistant to time the facts relating to the develop­ Dr. Brittain in 1912 and, when the ment of entomology in the States of direction of entomological work was Oregon. Washington and the Province taken over by R . C. Treherne under the of British Columbia. The work of as­ Dominion Government, after Dr. Brit­ sembling this information has obvious­ tain's departure. he continued in the ly entailed considerable research and the position of Assistant Provincial Ento­ au thor h as succeeded very effectivel y in mologist until his death in 1943. synchronizing the events leading to the In other respects we find that full gradual development of entomological recognition has bee n given to· the work work in the different parts of the Pacific of British Columbia entomologists. Northwest. Chapter four describes the expansion ~f The book is divided into five chapters entomological work from 19 30 unttl dealing with periods of development; the present time and a short chapter is first. the period of itinerant collec tors, devoted to enumeration and description then the period of resident collectors of the insect collec tions in the Pacific who laid the foundation of our ento­ Northwest. The book is illustrated with mological societies; then the period of portraits of several noted men wh.o established laboratories, showing the played a prominent part in founding the growth of applied entomology in this structure of our prese nt day entomolog­ region from small beginnings to gradual ical organizations and many facts of broadening of the work in recent years. historical interest are recorded. For ref­ We regret that, in this chapter, mention erence purposes Dr. Hatch's book will has not been made of the names of Dr. be of value and interesting to all who W. H. Brittain and his assistant Mr. M . are presently engaged or who have taken H. Ruhmann, the first entomologists to part in entomological work in the Pacific be appointed by the Government of Northwest.-W. Downes.