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Home » Guide » Arthropods (Arthropoda) » Insects (Insecta) » Ants, Bees, Wasps and Sawflies (Hymenoptera) » Aculeata - Bees, Ants, and other Stinging Wasps » Vespoidea » Yellowjackets, Paper Wasps, and Hornets; Potter, Mason and Pollen Wasps (Vespidae) » Paper Wasps (Polistinae) » Brachygastra » Mexican Honey Wasp (Brachygastra mellifica)

Species Brachygastra mellifica - Mexican Honey Wasp

Classification · Other Common Names · Explanation of Names · Numbers · Size · Identification · Range · Habitat · Food · Life Cycle · Remarks · Print References · Internet References · Works Cited
Honey Wasps - Brachygastra mellifica Vespidae Brachygastra - Brachygastra mellifica - female Vespidae Brachygastra nest - Brachygastra mellifica Large Mexican Honey Wasp Nest - Brachygastra mellifica Large Mexican Honey Wasp Nest - Brachygastra mellifica Unknown little wasp? - Brachygastra mellifica Mexican Honey Wasps - Brachygastra mellifica
Classification
Kingdom Animalia (Animals)
Phylum Arthropoda (Arthropods)
Class Insecta (Insects)
Order Hymenoptera (Ants, Bees, Wasps and Sawflies)
No Taxon (Aculeata - Bees, Ants, and other Stinging Wasps)
Superfamily Vespoidea
Family Vespidae (Yellowjackets, Paper Wasps, and Hornets; Potter, Mason and Pollen Wasps)
Subfamily Polistinae (Paper Wasps)
Genus Brachygastra
Species mellifica (Mexican Honey Wasp)
Other Common Names
Mexican Bee
Explanation of Names
Author of species is Say, 1837, as Polistes.
mell, -i, -it (L). Honey
fic, =ation (L). Make, making (1)
Numbers
Only one species in this genus in the U.S.
Size
7-9 mm
Identification
See photos.
Range
s. Texas and s. Arizona in the U.S. (2) Per Sudgen and McAllen (1994), the historic northern limits in Texas were Zapata to Kleberg counties. Full sized nest found in San Antonio, Bexar County, Texas in July 2007.
The southern AZ record is 100 years old from Nogales.
Habitat
Occurs in all but the driest habitats (3)
Food
Larvae feed on honey. (3)
Life Cycle
Eusocial, that is, completely social, with worker and reproductive castes. More than one queen per hive, and there are females present with ovaries intermediate in size between workers and queens. Form large colonies by swarming (coordinated groups of queens and workers). Store honey, but do not cap cells, as do bees. Nests are perennial, built in low trees, with as many as 50,000 cells (4) (2).
Remarks
One of the very few insects other than bees to produce and store honey.
Comment from Dr. Joan Strassmann, "They are docile a lot, but then they can explode, attacking en masse."
Print References
Evans, The Wasps--discusses biology of genus (4)
Arnett, p. 591--description (2)
Sugden, E. A. and R. L. McAllen. 1994. Observations on foraging, population and nest biology of the Mexican honey wasp, Brachygastra mellifica (Say) in Texas (Vespidae: Polybiinae). J. Kansas Entomol. Soc. 67(2):141-155. (referenced here)
Internet References
Texas Entomology - Mike Quinn
Brachygastra mellifica - Wikipedia
Eusocial Paper Wasp Genera and Research
Daniel J. Kruger--Univ. Michigan
Texas Agricultural Extension Service--states is fairly docile.
Role of honey from this wasp in Aztec cuisine
Works Cited
1.Dictionary of Word Roots and Combining Forms
By Donald J. Borror
2.American Insects: A Handbook of the Insects of America North of Mexico
By Ross H. Arnett
3.Latin American Insects and Entomology
By Charles L. Hogue
4.The Wasps
By Howard Ensign Evans, Mary Jane West Eberhard
Contributed by Cotinis on 26 October, 2006 - 3:15pm
Additional contributions by Mike Quinn
Last updated 22 July, 2007 - 10:21pm

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