Portal:Insects

A social wasp, Vespula germanica

A wasp is any insect of the narrow-waisted suborder Apocrita of the order Hymenoptera which is neither a bee nor an ant; this excludes the broad-waisted sawflies (Symphyta), which look somewhat like wasps, but are in a separate suborder. The wasps do not constitute a clade, a complete natural group with a single ancestor, as bees and ants are deeply nested within the wasps, having evolved from wasp ancestors. Wasps that are members of the clade Aculeata can sting their prey.

The most commonly known wasps, such as yellowjackets and hornets, are in the family Vespidae and are eusocial, living together in a nest with an egg-laying queen and non-reproducing workers. Eusociality is favoured by the unusual haplodiploid system of sex determination in Hymenoptera, as it makes sisters exceptionally closely related to each other. However, the majority of wasp species are solitary, with each adult female living and breeding independently. Females typically have an ovipositor for laying eggs in or near a food source for the larvae, though in the Aculeata the ovipositor is often modified instead into a sting used for defense or prey capture. Wasps play many ecological roles. Some are predators or pollinators, whether to feed themselves or to provision their nests. Many, notably the cuckoo wasps, are kleptoparasites, laying eggs in the nests of other wasps. Many of the solitary wasps are parasitoidal, meaning they lay eggs on or in other insects (any life stage from egg to adult) and often provision their own nests with such hosts. Unlike true parasites, the wasp larvae eventually kill their hosts. Solitary wasps parasitize almost every pest insect, making wasps valuable in horticulture for biological pest control of species such as whitefly in tomatoes and other crops. (Full article...)

• ... that only one side of the extinct parasitoid wasp Neanaperiallus is visible in its sole fossilised specimen?
• ... that the queen ant of the Acropyga acutiventris carries a mealybug Xenococcus annandalei in her jaws on her nuptial flight?
• ... that the only known specimen of the extinct planthopper Glisachaemus jonasdamzeni is preserved with a parasitic mite?
• ... that the extinct planthopper Tainosia quisqueyae was named for the Taíno people and Hispaniola?
• ... that the discovery of the fossil giant ant Titanomyrma in Wyoming indicates that warmth-loving fauna spread through the north between Europe and America during hot spells in the Eocene?

• List of largest insects
• List of data deficient insects
• List of least concern insects
• List of near threatened insects
• List of vulnerable insects
• List of endangered insects
• List of critically endangered insects

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Insects are the only group of invertebrates known to have evolved flight. Insects possess some remarkable flight characteristics and abilities, still far superior to attempts by humans to replicate their capabilities.

Main WikiProject:

• WikiProject Insects

Related projects:

• WikiProject Arthropods
• WikiProject Spiders
• WikiProject Animals
• WikiProject Tree of Life
• WikiProject Biology

Daughter projects:

• WikiProject Lepidoptera

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