Biogeographic characteristics of F ar E astern wasps: A case study with eumenine wasps ( H ymenoptera: V espidae: E umeninae)

A total of 107 forms of 88 eumenine wasp species occurring in the F ar E ast were used to produce a more comprehensive picture of the geographical pattern of wasps in the F ar E ast. All forms occurring in the F ar E ast were biogeographically classified into 22 types in four larger categories, and a summarized table and discussion are presented. The eumenine wasp fauna of the F ar E ast was characterized as a mixture of a fair number of endemic elements, a moderate number of transpalearctic elements, and some O riental elements. The endemism of the F ar E ast reached 0.71 at the species/subspecies level when the calculation was based on true Palearctic elements occurring in F ar E astern R ussia, the Korean peninsula and J apan proper. The relationship between the F ar E astern fauna and the C entral/ W estern P alearctic faunas was also analyzed and discussed. The species occurring in each treated district was counted, and provides evidence for the importance of the K orean fauna in biodiversity evaluation/estimation of F ar E astern fauna. The similarity index between the K orean P eninsula and J apan proper, the K orean P eninsula and the R ussian F ar E ast, and the R ussian F ar E ast and J apan proper was calculated to explain possible factors for faunal formation in the F ar E ast. The distributional pattern of each form treated in this study and its relatives is tabulated in Appendix I.