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Order Hymenoptera - Ants, Bees, Wasps and Sawflies
Classification Kingdom Animalia (Animals)
Phylum Arthropoda (Arthropods)
Class Insecta (Insects)
Order Hymenoptera (Ants, Bees, Wasps and Sawflies)
Other Common Names Spanish: avispa (wasp), abeja (bee)
French: guêpe (wasp), abeille (bee)
Synonyms and other taxonomic changes To see the taxonomic structure used on BugGuide.net for the Hymenoptera click hereExplanation of Names Hymenoptera is rom Greek, hymen, membrane, plus pteron (a), wing.
Modern English wasp is from Middle English waspe, Old English waesp, with a variant waefs, and the original root seems to have been waeps. (The form in some Modern English dialectical speech, including some American dialects, is wops!) The Indo-European root was *wops-. The original meaning appears to be related to weave, so a wasp is a weaver. The Indo-European root also gave rise to Latin uespa (later vespa), so that English wasp and scientific Latin Vespa are cognates (Partridge, 1958).
Modern English bee is, of course, echoic of the buzzing of bees, and this goes all the way back (circa 5,000 years!) to a very similar Indo-European root bhī meaning bee (Partridge, 1958). (Bees have been buzzing for a very long time!) Numbers Insects of Cedar Creek states there are over 70 families and about 18,000 species in North America.
Arnett (1) gives a figure of 17,777 species, 2034 genera for North America.
There are 125,000 known species worldwide and estimates of 600,000 and 1,200,000 total. Size Most are of moderate size, but they range in size from minuscule (less than a millimeter) to 50+ mm. Arnett (1) gives a range of 0.2-115 mm, but typically 2-30 mm Identification One of the most diverse groups of insects in form and life-history. Characteristics of Hymenoptera (1), (2):
Typically two pairs of wings, with forewings usually larger than hindwings, but some groups (such as ants) wingless in most life stages
Wings have few cross-veins, these are angled to form closed cells
Antennae typically with 10 or more segments. Often 13 segments in male, 12 in female, but sometimes as few as 3 or up to 60 segments.
Antennae longer than head, but usually not highly elongated (longer than head and thorax combined). Highly elongated in some parasitic groups.
Females have prominent ovipositor, modified in some groups to be a "stinger", used to paralyze prey and in defense
Chewing mouthparts, but some groups have a "tongue" used for lapping up fluids, such as nectar
Complete metamorphosis
Several groups higly social ( eusocial), with separate reproductive and worker castes
OVERVIEW OF FAMILIES
Family Pamphiliidae - Webspinning and Leafrolling Sawflies
Family Argidae - Argid Sawflies
Family Cimbicidae - Cimbicid Sawflies
Family Orussidae - Parasitic Wood Wasps
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Family Diprionidae - Conifer Sawflies
Family Xiphydriidae - Xiphydriid Wood Wasps
Family Cephidae - Stem Sawflies
No Taxon Aculeata - Bees, Ants, and other Stinging Wasps
Family Andrenidae - Mining Bees
Family Apidae - Cuckoo, Carpenter, Digger, Bumble, and Honey Bees
Family Colletidae - Plasterer Bees, Masked or Yellow-faced Bees
Family Halictidae - Sweat Bees
Family Megachilidae - Leaf-cutter bees, Mason Bees, and allies
Family Melittidae - Melittid Bees
Ampulicidae - Cockroach wasps
Sphecidae - Thread waisted wasps
Superfamily Chrysidoidea - Cuckoo Wasps and Allies
Family Bradynobaenidae - Bradynobaenid Wasps
Family Myrmosidae - Myrmosid Wasps
Family Rhopalosomatidae - Rhopalosomatid Wasps
 Larva  ♀
Family Sapygidae - Sapygid Wasps
Family Scoliidae - Scoliid Wasps
Family Sierolomorphidae - Sierolomorphid Wasps
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Family Tiphiidae - Tiphiid Wasps
Family Vespidae - Yellowjackets, Paper Wasps and Hornets; Potter, Mason and Pollen Wasps
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Family Stephanidae - Stephanid Wasps
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 winged female  wingless female
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Superfamily Evanioidea - Aulacids, Ensigns, and Gasteruptiids
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Superfamily Ichneumonoidea - Braconids and Ichneumons
Family Braconidae - Braconid Wasps
Habitat Varied. Many adults are found on flowers. Food Many groups are predatory, feeding their young with meat, usually of other insects. Some groups provision their young with pollen, and many adults take nectar. Life Cycle Complete metamorphosis (holometabolus). Life cycle has egg, larva, pupa, and adult. Some larvae (such as sawflies) are caterpillar-like, most are grub-like, lacking legs.
Males usually develop from unfertilized eggs in this order, a feature of their biology which likely contributed to the evolution of sociality independently in several groups.
In many groups, young are provisioned by the adults, however in many groups the larvae are parasitoids (predatory parasites) of other insects. Larvae of sawflies feed on plants, and these are believed to be a basal group, linking hymenoptera with related orders, such as Lepidoptera. Predatory, provisioning, and parasitoid life-styles are believed to have evolved in groups descended from plant-feeding (as larvae) hymenoptera. Remarks A Word About Classification:
A recurring event in Hymenopteran evolution is one branch that becomes so successful it seems like the main tree, or at least equal to its parent and "aunt and uncle" branches.
We think of sawflies, horntails, and wood wasps as a small branch of the Hymenoptera (the Symphyta), but the Aculeata are really just an offshoot from one of their many branches. We likewise think of the non-stinging, parasitic Aculeata like the Ichneumenoids as another branch, but the stinging hymenoptera known as Apocrita are just an offshoot of one of their branches. In the same way, one group of the Apocrita, the Apoid Wasps, gave rise to the bees, while another, the Vespoid Wasps, gave rise to the ants.
In each case, the new offshoot is different enough that it's easier to treat the groups it came from as if they're a separate branch- they have more in common with each other than with their offshoot. That's why BugGuide has groups like the Symphyta and the parasitic Apocrita separate from the Aculeata, and bees and ants separate from the families they came from. These are for convenience, and our arrangement shouldn't be taken as scientific fact.
A Word About Stings:
Ordinarily, Hymenoptera stings will only cause local pain and swelling.
However, some individuals may be allergic to Hymenoptera stings. An allergic reaction to Hymenoptera stings occurs once the victim becomes sensitized to the venom from a previous sting. The allergic reaction is caused by the immune system, which has now been oversensitized to the venom and releases histamines into the bloodstream. Histamines dilate blood capillaries, causing the skin to appear red and feel warm, and also make the capillaries more permeable, which allows fluid to escape into the tissues. This causes swelling, which is manifested as rapidly appearing hives, accompanied by severe itching. In a severe allergic reaction called anaphylactic shock, the tissues of the throat swell and the victim may have difficulty breathing and, unless promptly treated, death may result See Also Many flies ( diptera), moths, mantidflies, true bugs, spiders, and others mimic hymenoptera, and some are extremely convincing.
Print References Patridge, 1958. Origins: A short Etymological Dictionary of Modern English. New York: MacMillan, 972 pp.
Internet References
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