Cladistic analysis of Charterginus Fox, 1898 (Hymenoptera, Vespidae, Epiponini). A neotropical genus of social wasps

Abstract

A cladistic analysis of the swarm-founding neotropical social wasp genus Charterginus is presented. A single cladogram resulted from the analysis of 31 morphological characters and six nest characters, with relationships among the species as follows: ((C. fulvus + C. xanthura) + (C. weyrauchi + (C. nevermanni + (C. carinatus + C. zavattarii)))). The monophyly of the genus is confirmed and a new identification key is presented. Notes on the nest are given and the misidentification of C. carinatus is explained.