The Bembicinae comprise a large subfamily of
crabronid wasps that includes over 80 genera and over 1800 species which have a worldwide distribution. They excavate nests in the soil, frequently in sandy soils, and store insects of several orders, for example
Diptera,
Orthoptera,
Hemiptera,
Lepidoptera and
Odonata
Odonata is an order of flying insects that includes the dragonflies and damselflies. Members of the group first appeared during the Triassic, though members of their total group, Odonatoptera, first appeared in Late Carboniferous.
The two com ...
in the burrows. Some species are
kleptoparasites of other Bembicinae.
The different subgroups of Bembicinae are each quite distinctive, and rather well-defined, with clear morphological and behavioral differences between them.
Bembicines were originally a part of a single large family, the
Sphecidae, then for many years were treated as a separate family, and recently have been placed back into a larger family, the Crabronidae this time.
References
External links
Bugguide.net
Crabronidae
Apocrita subfamilies
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