162 ISSN: 2320 4311 (online) PROMMALIA Vol. I, 2013 Kumar, P.G., Srinivasan, G., and Carpenter, J.M. 2013. A taxonomic study on the genus Tropidodynerus Blüthgen (Hymenoptera: Vespidae: Eumeninae) from the Indian sub- continent. PROMMALIA I: 162-174. http://zoobank.org/urn:lsid:zoobank.org:pub:CC087367-159A-42C8-91EA-6D5AD17CAEAA Date of Publication: 29 November 2013 A TAXONOMIC STUDY ON THE GENUS TROPIDODYNERUS BLÜTHGEN (HYMENOPTERA: VESPIDAE: EUMENINAE) FROM THE INDIAN SUBCONTINENT P. GIRISH KUMAR 1 , G. SRINIVASAN 1 AND J. M. CARPENTER 2 1 Zoological Survey of India, M- Block, New Alipore, Kolkata-700 053, India. e-mail: zsisamy@rediffmail.com 2 Division of Invertebrate Zoology, American Museum of Natural History, Central Park West at 79 th Street, NY 10024, U.S.A. e-mail: carpenter@amnh.org Corresponding author: e-mail: kpgiris@gmail.com ABSTRACT The genus Tropidodynerus Blüthgen, 1939 is reviewed from the Indian subcontinent. There are two species present under the genus namely Tropidodynerus fraternus (Bingham, 1897) and Tropidodynerus hostis (Nurse, 1903). The distribution of both species in the Indian states is highlighted. A key to species of the Indian subcontinent and a checklist of the world species is provided. Key words: Eumeninae, Vespidae, Tropidodynerus, Indian subcontinent, key, checklist. INTRODUCTION Blüthgen (1939) described the genus Tropidodynerus with “Hoplomerus interruptus (Brullé, 1832) = H. mandibularis Morawitz, 1885” [= Polistes interrupta Brullé, 1832], but Blüthgen (1939) did not state so explicitly. Of this species, he wrote “Ich begründe für ihn die neue Gattung Tropidodynerus. In diese gehört ferner Hopl. variegatus (F.).” Clearly, he intended interruptus to be the type, but he did not state this explicitly until Blüthgen (1941). This genus is distributed in the Oriental and Palearctic Regions. Five species with three subspecies are recognized in this genus worldwide, of which two species, namely Tropidodynerus fraternus (Bingham, 1897) and Tropidodynerus hostis (Nurse, 1903) are recorded from the Oriental Region (Indian subcontinent). Giordani Soika (1994) erected the subgenus Tropidepipona for these two Oriental species. The species T. fraternus (Bingham, 1897) is