Polistes (Gyrostoma) olivaceus

Polistes (Gyrostoma) olivaceus (DeGeer, 1773) Literature records Morice (1921); Derwesh (1965), mentioning ‘Survey of Iraq Fauna, 1959–1919’; Khalaf and Al-Omar (1974); Abdul-Rassoul (1976); Al-Ali (1977). Remarks We have examined no specimens of this species from Iraq. Morice (1921) records it from Amarah and Baghdad, reporting that the specimens ‘are very pale forms with hardly any black markings’, suggesting that they belonged in fact to Polistes wattii, which is common and widespread in the Middle East. Khalaf and Al-Omar (1974), Abdul-Rassoul (1976) and Al-Ali (1977) recorded it from several localities, but given the confusion in the past between P. olivaceus and P. wattii, these records are attributed to the latter. We do not know of any confirmed record of P. olivaceus from Iraq.