Abstract: Morphological diversity of seminal vesicles and spermatozoa play an important role in the taxonomic and phylogenetic analysis, but it has been scarcely studied in the subfamily Polistinae, even in the whole Vespidae. The male reproductive system of the paper wasp Polistes chinensis antennalis Pérez was dissected for the first time, with emphasis on the ultrastructure of the seminal vesicle. The morphology of the sperm was also briefly reported. Seminal vesicle and accessory gland are not surrounded by a common sheath. The epithelium of seminal vesicle consists of a monolayer of cubical cells, adhering to a thick basal lamina, and these epithelial cells are polarized: the apical half of the epithelial cells is especially rich in mitochondria with the apical membrane being differentiated into microvilli, while the basal half contains the usual cellular organelles, including some mitochondria, the nucleus and prominent inclusions. The spermatozoa of P. chinensis antennalis are about 94 μm in length with the head about 21.4 μm in length, so it is the species with the shortest sperm and the longest relative head length of sperm described for the family Vespidae. The results may provide a theoretical foundation for  phylogenetic analysis and reproductive physiology of Vespidae.

Key words: Polistinae, Polistes chinensis antennalis, male reproductive system, seminal vesicle, sperm, ultrastructure, transmission electron microscopy (TEM)