HYMENOPTERA: BEES, WASPS, ANTS, SAWFLIES
Definition
- Adults with 2 pairs of wings for flight. Antennae usually cylindrical or modified with projections.
- Mouthparts of the biting and chewing type.
- The life cycle is complete:- egg, larva, pupa and adult.
- There are 3 major types:-
SYMPHYTA: SAWFLIES.
These have caterpillar larvae, with fleshy false legs on most abdominal segments.
ACULEATES: BEES, WASPS AND ANTS.
The legless larvae are in cells stocked with food by the adults, or parasitoids of those species.
PARASITICA: PARASITIC WASPS.
The legless larvae are parasitoids of other insects.
- In size they range from less than 0.25 mm along, to giants 40 mm long, even in Britain. What they do & where they live
- Between them, they eat a huge range of things:- live plants, pollen & nectar, timber, seeds and some are cleptoparasites (food stealers), parasitoids (parasites that kill their host) or other invertebrates.
- They occur in all land habitats but very few live in freshwater.
Number of species
- About 7,500 species live in Britain, the largest order of insects.
- Worldwide, about 4,700 sawflies and 125,000 bees/wasps/ants are described as species, and there is no figure for the immense number of parasitic wasps.
It's amazing. Some of these insects have a highly refined social structure, as in an ant’s nest or bee hive.
It's amazing. Some Parasitica wasps are so small that they can grow to adulthood within a single egg of another insect.
HYMENOPTERA
(Order of insects) = Bees, wasps, ants and sawflies. A huge and varied Order of insects, with over 7000 species in Britain. Included are the following:-
BEES.
These feed on nectar and gather pollen to feed their larvae. though some have become cuckoos of pollen gathering bees. The largely domesticated hive bee and all bumblebees form colonies with a queen in charge, supported by workers. However, the great majority of species of bee are solitary, without workers. Bees are of considerable importance as pollinators of crops and wild flowers. Britain has about 260 species. It's amazing: Plant and bee evolution have been interdependent.
>>> more on BUMBLEBEES
WASPS.
Most feed their larvae on other insects. The hornet and 'jam pot' wasps are social species, with queen and workers developing colonial nests. The great majority of species are solitary. Some are significant pollinators, but most play an unobtrusive part in various webs of life. Some are cuckoos on nest provisions of other wasps, and some bizarre relatives are internal parasites of leaf-hoppers. Britain has about 350 species. It's amazing: They may look dangerous but most are harmless.
ANTS.
Most are colonial, and have nests with a few to thousands of workers depending on age of nest and species concerned. Some ants specialise in living in small numbers in the large nests of other species of ant. Usually nests are out of sight underground, but some species extend their nest into a mound above ground. Some species of ant collect seeds to eat, but most are predatory on other tiny creatures and are fond of honey dew secreted by aphids; some even manage and protect aphid colonies, milking them like a herd of cows. Britain has about 50 native species.
PARASITIC WASPS.
The legless larvae are parasitoids of other insects. In size they range from less than 0.25mm loong to 40mm giants, even in Britain. These wasps are parasites of other invertebrates (technically parasitoides since they often kill the host) or their larvae are in living plant tissue where they may form galls. This is an immense and complex group of wasps with many different life histories. They are abundant and play a vital role in the checks and balances in populations of other invertebrates. Britain has approaching 6000 species.
It's amazing: Some are so tiny they can 'fly' underwater to parasitise minute water beetle eggs.
SAWFLIES.
These have caterpillar larvae, with fleshy flase legs (prolegs) on most abdominal segments. They are primitive, the larvae looking very like butterfly caterpillars except with legs on nearly all segments. They eat leaves just like caterpillars, and a few make galls. The adults of some species visit flowers for nectar, or more commonly eat other insects. Britain has nearly 500 species.
It's amazing: Remember, they invented the saw first, to cut a slot into a plant to lay their eggs.
