Title: Affinities of the Australian Paper Wasp Ropalidia proletaria (Insecta : Hymenoptera : Vespidae), with Descriptions of Males, Mature Larvae, and a Nest
Abstract: The males, mature larvae, and a nest of an Australian paper wasp, Ropalidia proletaria Richards, 1978, are described for the first time. Not only the female adult morphology but also the morphologies of the male, larva, and nest suggest that R. proletaria is closely related to R. plebeiana Richards, 1978, rather than to R. revolutionalis (de Saussure, 1853) as Richards (1978) suggested.