Vespidae
| Vespidae | |
|---|---|
| File:Vespula germanica Horizontalview Richard Bartz.jpg | |
| Vespula germanica | |
| Scientific classification | |
| Kingdom: | |
| Phylum: | |
| Class: | |
| Order: | |
| Suborder: | |
| Superfamily: | |
| Family: |
Vespidae
|
| Subfamilies | |
|
Eumeninae: potter wasps |
|
Lua error in Module:Taxonbar/candidate at line 22: attempt to index field 'wikibase' (a nil value).
The Vespidae are a large (nearly 5000 species), diverse, cosmopolitan family of wasps, including nearly all the known eusocial wasps (such as Polistes fuscatus, Polistes annularis, and Vespula germanica) and many solitary wasps.[1] Each social wasp colony includes a queen and a number of female workers with varying degrees of sterility relative to the queen. In temperate social species, colonies usually only last one year, dying at the onset of winter. New queens and males (drones) are produced towards the end of the summer, and after mating, the queens hibernate over winter in cracks or other sheltered locations. The nests of most species are constructed out of mud, but polistines and vespines use plant fibers, chewed to form a sort of paper (also true of some stenogastrines). Many species are pollen vectors contributing to the pollination of several plants, being potential or even effective pollinators,[2] while others are notable predators of pest insect species.
The subfamilies Polistinae and Vespinae are composed solely of eusocial species, while Eumeninae, Euparagiinae, and Masarinae are all solitary; the Stenogastrinae subfamily contains a variety of forms from solitary to social.
In Polistinae and Vespinae, rather than consuming prey directly, prey are masticated and fed to the larvae, and in return, produce a clear liquid (with high amino acid content) which the adults consume; the exact amino acid composition varies considerably among species, but it is considered to contribute substantially to adult nutrition.[3]
Gallery
-
German wasp
-
Cocoon 2 750px.jpg
Median wasp nest
-
Yellowjacket nest 2 sjh.JPG
Polistes nest
-
Vespa tropica sec.jpg
Vespa tropica from India
-
Wasp stripping wood.jpg
Dolichovespula media (a European tree wasp) stripping wood from a fence for use in nest construction
External links
 |
Wikimedia Commons has media related to Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.. |
- Evolutionary history of social behavior in Vespids
- Stunning photographs of Vespidae (and other insects) in flight
- Vespidae: Potter wasps; vespid wasps; social wasps; hornets; paper wasps; yellowjackets
References
- ↑ Pickett, Kurt M., and John W. Wenzel (2004). Phylogenetic Analysis of the New World Polistes (Hymenoptera: Vespidae: Polistinae) Using Morphology and Molecules. Journal of the Kansas Entomological Society 77(4):742-60.
- ↑ Sühs, R.B.; Somavilla, A.; Putzke, J.; Köhler, A. (2009). Pollen vector wasps (Hymenoptera, Vespidae) of Schinus terebinthifolius Raddi (Anacardiaceae), Santa Cruz do Sul, RS, Brazil. Brazilian Journal of Biosciences 7(2):138-143. Link: http://www.ufrgs.br/seerbio/ojs/index.php/rbb/article/view/1123
- ↑ Hunt, J. H.; I. Baker; and H. G. Baker. (1982). Similarity of amino acids in nectar and larval saliva: the nutritional basis for trophallaxis in social wasps. Evolution 36: 1318-1322
