Abstract: 【Aim】 To sequence and analyze the complete mitochondrial genome of Parapolybia crocea， and to explore the phylogenetic position of Parapolybia in Vespidae based on mitochondrial genome sequences. 【Methods】 The complete mitochondrial genome of P. crocea was sequenced by using Illumina sequencing technique， and its general features and base composition were analyzed. The phylogenetic tree of mitochondrial genomes of seven vespid species was constructed by using maximum likelihood method， and their phylogenetic relationships within Vespidae were analyzed.【Results】 The mitochondrial genome of P. crocea is a circular molecule of 16 619 bp (GenBank no.： KY679828)， including 13 protein coding genes， 22 tRNA genes， two rRNA genes (rrnS and rrnL)， and one control region (CR). The gene arrangement of P. crocea is not completely consistent with the putative ancestral sequence of insects. All protein-coding genes initiate with the start codon ATN. The stop codon of these genes is TAA，except for CYTB and ND1 which terminates with TAG. All the predicted tRNAs show the classic clover-leaf structure， except for the absence of DHU arm of tRNASer(AGN). The control region contains one 18 bp T-stretchstructure and two tandem repeat sequences. The phylogenetic relationships of seven species within Vespidae based on the mitochondrial genomes present as Eumeninae+(Vespinae+Polistinae)， and Parapolybia and Polistes are grouped into the subfamily Polistinae. 【Conclusion】  Gene rearrangement exists in the mitochondrial genome of P. crocea. The phylogenetic relationships of Vespidae constructed based on the mitochondrial genomes are consistent with those in traditional morphological taxonomy： Parapolybia is grouped into Polistinae， and the relationship between Polistinae and Vespinae is closer than that between Polistinae and Eumeninae.

Key words: Hymenoptera, Vespidae, Parapolybia, Parapolybia crocea, mitochondrial genome, phylogentic relationship