Order Hymenoptera (Wasps, Bees, and Ants)

Paper Wasp

Introduction

Order Hymenoptera (Wasps, Bees, and Ants)
The Hymenoptera are small to large (0.5 – 50 mm) insects that have two pairs of wings (if winged), biting chewing mouthparts (bees have an interesting "tongue"), generally an elongate ovipositor (egg laying structure), and a genetic system where fertilized eggs become females and unfertilized eggs become males.

Hymenoptera as a group are very important for human endeavors. Many species are predators or parasites of other insects that humans consider detrimental, many species are important pollinators, and one of our domesticated insects, the Honey Bee, produces over 150 million pounds of honey per year in the U.S. Hymenoptera can also be pestiferous such as social wasps that build nests near human dwellings, "Africanized" honey bees, and nonnative ants (red imported fire ant, etc.) that have become established in the U.S. and elsewhere.

Typical Hymenoptera immatures are grub-like. Example: Yellow ant (Acanthomyops sp.)

Life Cycle

Hymenoptera are Holometabolous, their life cycle consists of four phases: egg, multiple instars, pupa, and adult. "Complete metamorphosis" is the common term for this life cycle. Insect orders with this life cycle are grouped under the term Endopterygota because immatures never have visible wing buds. The pupal stage is only found in the Endopterygota. This is typically a resting stage (e.g., the chrysalis of butterflies) where the insect undergoes a final metamorphosis from immature to adult.

Immature Hymenoptera look very different from adults. Most resemble grubs or maggots, but some, such as sawfly larvae, look very similar to caterpillars. Generally immature hymenoptera are not encountered because many are very small internal parasites of other insects, or protected by adults (social wasps, bees, and ants) and therefore left alone.

How to Photograph Hymenoptera

Be careful.

If you have a severe allergic reaction to hymenoptera stings don't take the chance. Let someone else photograph specimens for you.

Despite looking ferocious, horntails and parasitic wasps can't sting (even if they have a huge visible "stinger"). When busy at a flower, most bees and wasps are indifferent to nosey photographers and can be readily approached, however when defending nests, social wasps and bees can be aggressive. It is best to use caution and move slowly.

Wasp Capture: See text for details.

How to Collect Hymenoptera

Be extra careful.

If you have a severe allergic reaction to hymenoptera stings don't take the chance. Let someone else collect specimens for you.

Again, many kinds of Hymenoptera cannot harm humans. However, social wasps and bees can 1) inflict painful stings, and 2) may swarm if disturbed. Use caution when collecting Hymenoptera. Specimens are best captured with a long handled net that has a deep see-through bag (an aerial net may be best, but don't snag it on brambles, etc.). After the specimen is in the bag, flip the net over the hoop, trapping the specimen inside. If the net bag is see-through, locate the specimen and clap it, net and all, between the lid and body of your killing jar (see "Wasp Capture," right). Wait a few minutes until the specimen is stunned, then carefully slip the killing jar into the net, scoop up the specimen and close the killing jar.

Redheaded Pine Sawfly (Neodiprion lecontei)

How Hymenoptera Cause Damage

Social wasps, some bees, and some ants can be annoying to homeowners because of their presence and/or potential to sting. Honey bee swarms and colonies can be of particular nuisance as well. A honey bee swarm is temporary and will move along in a few days when a suitable nest site is found. However, honey bees occasionally build permanent colonies in the walls of buildings. If you find a honey bee colony that needs to be removed, contact your local extension agent or do an internet search for bee removal in your area. For example, there are more than 60 people in Louisiana who are willing to help with bee removal.[1]

Oak Apple Gall (Amphibolips sp.)

Immature sawflies are plant defoliators, leaf miners, and fruit and stem borers. They look similar to caterpillars but sawfly's have more than five pairs of prolegs, while caterpillars have five or fewer pairs of prolegs. Sawflies in the family Diprionidae are important pests of conifers including Christmas trees.[2]

Small wasps in the family Cynipidae cause gall formation in oaks.[3] Eggs are deposited on limbs or leaves depending on species and generation. The immature gall wasps secrete plant growth regulation chemicals that induce gall formation by the tree. The immature obtains nutrients and protection from the gall. Galls rarely cause serious damage to trees.

Types of Hymenoptera

Hymenoptera can be divided into four informal groups: sawflies and horntails, wasps, bees, and ants.

Sirex Woodwasp (Sirex areolatus). Note the broad attachment of the thorax and abdomen. The "stinger" is for inserting eggs into woody tissue and cannot be used to sting.

Sawflies and Horntails

The sawflies and horntails are composed of 12 families that are easily recognizable because they lack the characteristic "wasp waist" of the rest of the hymenoptera (see photo, right). The immatures of the sawflies and horntails look very similar to caterpillars and are generally foliage feeders (see Sawfly photo, above), but some feed internally on wood. The females have a well-developed ovipositor used for inserting the eggs into the host plant, thus the common names sawflies and horntails. All members of this group lack venom glands and cannot sting.

Wasps: Hymenoptera have two pairs of wings, but they are often latched together so they appear to have only two wings. Also, note the "wasp waist" constriction in the middle of the body. Modified from Comstock 1936.

Wasps

The "wasps" are a very large group of about 55 families mostly composed of species that are small and parasitic on other arthropods. Only a small portion has venom glands and can sting. Immatures are reduced and grub-like, generally without legs or eyes. They grow within the body of a host or in the case of non-parasitic wasps, like mud daubers and paper wasps, are fed insect and spider prey by their parents. Some wasps attack plants, such as Cynipidae, see above.

Family: Vespidae

Paper Wasp European Paper Wasp (Polistes dominula)

Worldwide there are over 300 species of paper wasps in the genus Polistes. Some species will position their nests under eves of buildings and sometimes in flower beds or gardens and thus become a nuisance. Paper wasp nests are used for reproduction. One egg is laid in each brood cell. After hatching the larvae remain in the cell and are fed by adults. Polistes are general predators on insects, especially caterpillars, and are generally regarded as agents of insect control. The heads of five wasp grubs can be seen the picture to the left. When a grub is ready to pupate and become an adult the cell is carefully covered with "paper" and left alone. Generally nests are abandoned in the fall or winter and are not returned to the next year.

Families: Sphecidae/ Crabronidae

Blue Mud Dauber (Chalybion californicus) Specifically targets Black Widow Spiders		Black and Yellow Mud Dauber (Sceliphron caementaria)		Paralyzed spiders from mud dauber nest	Several wasp species construct nests made of mud and are collectively called "Mud Dauber Wasps" despite the fact that they are in two different families. Nests of mud Daubers can be a nuisance, however the actions of mud-daubers are often considered beneficial. Adults provision nests with paralyzed spiders for their larvae to consume, and one species, the Blue Mud Dauber, specifically targets black and brown widow spiders.[4] Mud Daubers rarely sting unless provoked and nests can be removed with a trowel.

Bees

The bees are represented by 6 families and about 3500 species in North America. Most bees are hairy and each hair is branched or plumose, a character that separates bees from the rest of the Hymenoptera. Bees visit flowers for nectar and pollen. Adults feed on the nectar, and pollen is fed to the immatures (as opposed to insect or spider prey like wasps). Some bees pollinate only specific species of plants, while others are generalists. The Honey bee is not native to the U. S. but was imported from Europe.

Family: Halictidae

Sweat Bee		Pollination Sweat Bees are important pollinators		Typical nest Immatures feed on a pollen ball that is placed in each cell.	Sweat Bees, family Halictidae, are small, generally metallic bees that are often encountered in flower beds and gardens. They can be annoying because of their attraction to perspiration and may sting in self-defense if they are accidentally compressed. Sweat bees are important pollinators and should be welcome in gardens and flowerbeds. Sweat bees build nests in the ground or sometimes in well rotten dead wood. They construct multiple chambers at the end of a tunnel and place a single large pollen ball in each one. Each chamber is sealed after a single egg is laid on the pollen ball. After hatching the bee larva eats the pollen and completes its development. Some species are "cleptoparasitic," they break into the egg chamber of another species, eat the egg within and lay their own egg on the pollen ball.

Family: Apidae

Carpenter Bee (Xylocopa virginica) Note the shiny black patch between the wings		Carpenter Bee (Xylocopa micans) Carpenter Bees are important pollinators		Typical nest In nature Carpenter Bees make nests by boring into dead trees and other woody material. Multiple egg chambers are made in each nest.	Carpenter Bees, family Apidae, are large bees that superficially resemble bumble bees. The common Carpenter Bee, Xylocopa virginica, can be separated from bumble bees by the presence of a shiny-black hairless patch on the thorax between the wings. Carpenter Bees are important pollinators but their habit of constructing nests in exposed dry wood can cause damage to homes and outbuildings. Males, which are harmless and cannot sting, will hover near a nest and approach nearby people or animals. Females bore large holes in dead wood creating multiple egg chambers. Chambers are provisioned with elaborately shaped provision masses made of pollen which serves as food for the immature bees.

Ants

Ants (Formicidae): Ants are easily recognized by their geniculate (elbowed) antenna and the one or two nodes between their thorax and gastor. Modified from Imms 1934.

All ants belong to a single family, Formicidae, and over 14,000 species are described worldwide. Ants can be easily separated from other Hymenoptera by their geniculate (elbowed) antennae and one or two segments with upright lobes (nodes) between the main body and the abdomen. All ants are eusocial, the most derived form of social behavior, where there is an overlap of generations, division of labor, and older individuals help to raise younger individuals. Ants are incredibly important in ecosystems and provide an enormous number of ecological services such as predation of insects, cleanup of dead plant and animal matter, and addition of nutrients to the soil.

Family: Formicidae

Red Imported Fire Ant, worker Note two nodes		Red Imported Fire Ant, winged female After dispersal and mating she will bite her wings off and start a new colony.		Typical mounds	The Red Imported Fire Ant is a native of South America that was first brought to the U.S. in the 1930s. It is established in the southeastern U.S. and southern California. Red Imported Fire Ants cause nearly $6 billion in damage and losses in the U.S. every year. Several diseases and parasites that specifically attack fire ants have been introduced. Many work but on a limited basis, for example the presence of parasitic phorid flies changes fire ant foraging behavior which reduces the competitiveness of the colony more than the actual parasitism.

Summary and References

There are 74 families and ~20,372 species of Hymenoptera in North American North of Mexico. Hymenoptera of the World: an Identification Guide to Families, Borror and Delong’s Introduction to the Study of Insects, and Insects: Their Natural History and Diversity: With a Photographic Guide to Insects of Eastern North America are good guides for this order. The latter is especially good, and provides many color photographs of examples of common and not so common species and families.

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Print References

First Detector Entomology Training Project