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Palaeovespa florissantia, late Eocene. The Vespidae are a large (nearly 5000 species), diverse, cosmopolitan family of wasps, including nearly all the known eusocial wasps (such as Polistes fuscatus, Vespa orientalis, and Vespula germanica) and many solitary wasps. [1]
Some wasps are even parasitoids of parasitoids; the eggs of Euceros are laid beside lepidopteran larvae and the wasp larvae feed temporarily on their haemolymph, but if a parasitoid emerges from the host, the hyperparasites continue their life cycle inside the parasitoid. [19] Parasitoids maintain their extreme diversity through narrow specialism.
Chrysididae, the scientific name of the family, refers to their shiny bodies and is derived from Greek chrysis, chrysid-, "gold vessel, gold-embroidered dress", plus the familial suffix -idae. The common names of many species pay similar tribute to their appearance: jewel wasp , gold wasp , emerald wasp , ruby wasp and so on (cf. French guêpe ...
Face of a southern yellowjacket (Vespula squamosa)Yellowjackets may be confused with other wasps, such as hornets and paper wasps such as Polistes dominula.A typical yellowjacket worker is about 12 mm (0.47 in) long, with alternating bands on the abdomen; the queen is larger, about 19 mm (0.75 in) long (the different patterns on their abdomens help separate various species).
Chrysis ignita and its family of chrysidid wasps have evolved effective defenses for their risky life cycle. While the life of a cuckoo wasp may seem easy, it must drop off its young to be raised by a host wasp species. The ruby-tailed wasp has to infiltrate a nest full of defensive mother wasps, often armed with powerful stingers and jaws.
Hymenoptera is a large order of insects, comprising the sawflies, wasps, bees, and ants.Over 150,000 living species of Hymenoptera have been described, [2] [3] in addition to over 2,000 extinct ones. [4]
Hornets (insects in the genus Vespa) are the largest of the eusocial wasps, and are similar in appearance to yellowjackets, their close relatives. Some species can reach up to 5.5 cm (2.2 in) in length. They are distinguished from other vespine wasps by the relatively large top margin of the head. Worldwide, 22 species of Vespa are recognized.
Insects in the family Ichneumonidae are commonly called ichneumon wasps, or ichneumonids. However, the term ichneumon wasps can refer specifically to the genus Ichneumon within the Ichneumonidae and thus can cause confusion. A group of ichneumonid specialists have proposed Darwin wasps as a better vernacular name for the family. [5]