Distribution: N Africa (?), Western Europe, north to the Arctic Circle (Pekkarinen, Gustafsson, 1999), Asia Minor, Near East, Caucasus, Iran, C and E Kazakhstan. Russia: N Caucasus, South Ural, Southern Siberia, Middle Amur (Kurzenko, 1995, Dubatolov, 1998).

Localities from collection of SZMN and literature: Russia: Orenburg Province: Donskoe; Novosibirsk Province: Novosibirsk, Zyryanka river in Maslyanino district; Altaiskii Krai: Kolyvan, Bobrovskii pine forest in Novoaltaiskoe district; Altai Republic: Chibit, mouth of the Chuya river, Koksha (Teletskoe Lake); Tuva: Ust'-Uyuk (Turan district), Il'inka (Saryg-Sep district), Znamenka; Chita Province: 165-170 km E from Chita, Undinskie Kavykuchi on river Unda, Nerchinskii Zavod, Budyumkan; Amur Province: Nature Reserve Khinganskii (Kurzenko, 1992); Southern Kuriles: Iturup (Kuwayama, 1967). NE Kazakhstan: Serebryansk, Kurchumskii Range. Mongolia: Bulgan aimak: 23 km NW from Chutag, 23 km NNO from Chischig-Öndör (Giordani Soika, 1976).

Notes: 1. the species is known also from southern regions of the Irkutsk Province, Southern Buryatia and southern part of the Amur Province (Kurzenko, 1995). 2. S.Kuwayama (1967) considered that records on Polistes chinensis F. from the Iturup Is. (Southern Kuril Is.) by S.Matsumura (1926) belongs to P. biglumis L.

References
Dubatolov, V.V. 1998. Social wasps (Hymenoptera, Vespidae: Polistinae, Vespinae) of Siberia in the collection of Siberian Zoological Museum. - Far Eastern Entomologist 57: 1-11.
Giordani Soika, A. 1976. Vespidi ed Eumenidi (Hymenoptera) raccolti in Mongolia dal Dr. Z. Kaszab. - Acta zoologica Academiae scientiarum hungaricae 22 (3-4): 271-276.
Kurzenko, N.V. 1992. [Fam. Vespidae]. In: [Insects of the Nature Reserve Khinganskii]. Part 2. Dal'nauka, Vladivostok: 251-254. (In Russian).
Kurzenko, N.V. 1995. [Fam. Vespidae]. In: [A key to insects from the Far East of Russia]. Vol. 4. Neuropteroidea, Mecoptera, Hymenoptera. Part 1. - St-Petersburg: 264-324. (In Russian).
Kuwayama, S. 1967. Insect fauna of the Southern Kurile Islands. Sapporo: 1-225 p., 1-4 pl., map.
Matsumura, S. 1926. Journ. Coll. Agr. Hokkaido Imp. Univ. 18: 42.
Pekkarinen, A, Gustavsson, B. 1999. The Polistes species in northern Europe (Hymenoptera: Vespidae). - Entomol. Fennica 10: 191-197.