Pemphredonidae
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Pemphredonidae is a family of aphid wasps formerly treated as the subfamily Pemphredoninae. There are 19 genera and 556 described species in the family.


Description and identification

The primary morphological distinction between the Pemphredondae and the Psenidae is that Pemphredondae never have more than two submarginal cells in their forewing while Psenidae have three submarginal cells.


Biology

The subfamily consists of solitary wasps, each genus having its own distinct and consistent prey preferences. The adult females dig tunnels in the ground, or plant material, for nesting. As with all other apoid wasps, the larvae are carnivorous; females hunt for prey on which to lay their eggs, mass provisioning the nest cells with paralyzed, living prey that the larvae feed upon after hatching from the egg.


Taxonomy and phylogeny

As Pemphredoninae, this taxon was previously divided into four tribes: Entomosericini, Odontosphecini, Psenini, and Pemphredonini. The Pemphredonini were considered to have by far the largest number of species. Phylogenetic analyses to resolve the
paraphyly In taxonomy, a group is paraphyletic if it consists of the group's last common ancestor and most of its descendants, excluding a few monophyletic subgroups. The group is said to be paraphyletic ''with respect to'' the excluded subgroups. In co ...
of Crabronidae through erecting additional families also found the Pemphredoninae to be polyphyletic. As a result, more recent classifications treat Psenidae (comprising the former tribes Psenini and Odontosphecini) as a separate family, and sister to the newly-erected family Ammoplanidae. Ammoplanidae is also rendered as the most sister family to the
bee Bees are winged insects closely related to wasps and ants, known for their roles in pollination and, in the case of the best-known bee species, the western honey bee, for producing honey. Bees are a monophyly, monophyletic lineage within the ...
s (Anthophila). The Pemphredonidae (Pemphredonini excluding Ammoplanina) is instead sister taxon to the Philanthidae. In continued revision, Entomosericini has also been elevated to family status as Entomosericidae.


Genera

The Pemphredonidae are restricted to the former subtribes Pemphredonina, Spilomenina, and Stigmina. Pemphredonina * '' Diodontus'' * ''
Passaloecus ''Passaloecus'' is a genus of wasps in the family Crabronidae. The 40 species are found in the Nearctic. They are especially represented in the Palearctic Species These 48 species belong to the genus ''Passaloecus'': * '' Passaloecus annu ...
'' * ''
Pemphredon ''Pemphredon'' is a genus of digger wasps (Spheciformes) from the family Crabronidae. The genus is common in the Holarctic, 12 species are represented in Europe. Several species are considered beneficial because of their specialization in aphid ...
'' * '' Polemistus'' Spilomenina * '' Arpactophilus'' * ''
Microstigmus The thin-waisted social wasps (genus ''Microstigmus''), which typically reside in Neotropical regions from Central to South America, are a small genus of wasps that build nests and live in colonies ranging in size from 1 to 18 members. ''Microsti ...
'' * '' Spilomena'' * '' Xysma'' Stigmina * '' Allostigmus'' * '' Araucastigmus'' * '' Aykhustigmus'' * '' Carinostigmus'' * '' Ceratostigmus'' * '' Incastigmus'' * '' Llaqhastigmus'' * '' Paracrabro'' * '' Parastigmus'' * '' Stigmus'' * '' Tzustigmus''


Transferred to Ammoplaninidae

10 genera of Ammoplanina now comprise the family Ammoplaninidae. This transfer includes 137 species. * '' Ammoplanellus'' * ''
Ammoplanops ''Ammoplanops'' is a genus of aphid wasps in the family Crabronidae The Crabronidae are a large paraphyletic group (nominally a family) of wasps, including nearly all of the species formerly comprising the now-defunct superfamily Sphecoidea ...
'' * ''
Ammoplanus ''Ammoplanus'' is a genus of aphid wasps in the family Crabronidae The Crabronidae are a large paraphyletic group (nominally a family) of wasps, including nearly all of the species formerly comprising the now-defunct superfamily Sphecoidea ...
'' * '' Ammostigmus'' * '' Mohavena'' * ''
Parammoplanus ''Parammoplanus'' is a genus of aphid wasps in the family Crabronidae The Crabronidae are a large paraphyletic group (nominally a family) of wasps, including nearly all of the species formerly comprising the now-defunct superfamily Sphecoid ...
'' * '' Protostigmus'' * ''
Pulverro ''Pulverro'' is a genus of aphid wasps in the family Crabronidae. There are about 13 described species in ''Pulverro''. Species These 13 species belong to the genus ''Pulverro'': * ''Pulverro boharti'' N. Smith, 1983 * ''Pulverro californicus'' ...
'' * '' Riparena'' * '' Timberlakena''


Transferred to Entomosericidae

A single genus of Entomosericini now comprises the Entomosericidae. This transfer includes 3 species. * '' Entomosericus''


Transferred to Psenidae

1 genus of Odontosphecini (''Odontosphex'') and 11 genera of Psenini now comprise the family Psenidae. This transfer includes 485 species. * '' Ammopsen'' * '' Deinomimesa'' * '' Lithium'' * '' Mimesa'' * '' Mimumesa'' * '' Nesomimesa'' * '' Odontopsen'' * '' Odontosphex'' * '' Pluto'' * ''
Psen ''Psen'' is a genus of aphid wasps in the family Crabronidae The Crabronidae are a large paraphyletic group (nominally a family) of wasps, including nearly all of the species formerly comprising the now-defunct superfamily Sphecoidea. It co ...
'' * ''
Pseneo ''Pseneo'' is a genus of aphid wasps in the family Crabronidae The Crabronidae are a large paraphyletic group (nominally a family) of wasps, including nearly all of the species formerly comprising the now-defunct superfamily Sphecoidea. It ...
'' * ''
Psenulus ''Psenulus'' is a genus of wasps in the family Crabronidae. The 160 species are found worldwide, but are best represented in the Indomalayan realm with 68. The Palearctic has 26, the Nearctic 4, and the Australasian realm 3. ''Psenulus'' is large ...
''


Transferred to Angarosphecidae

Two fossil wasp genera from the Weald Clay were originally considered to possibly be in the Pemphredoninae. They are currently classified among the 15 genera of the extinct family, Angarosphecidae. * †'' Archisphex'' * †'' Angarosphex''


References


Further reading

* Simon-Thomas, R. T. and Bohart, R. M. (1998) ''A recapitulation of errata and omissions to Sphecid wasps of the world, a generic revision, by R.M. Bohart & A.S. Menke'' Instituut voor Systematiek en Populatiebiologie, University of Amsterdam, Amsterdam,


External links


"Pemphredoninae Dahlbom, 1835" '' ITIS Report''
* Photograph
"Subfamily Pemphredoninae - Aphid Wasps" ''Bug Guide''
* Photograph
"Pemphredoninae" ''Flickr''
{{Taxonbar, from=Q146703 Apoidea Apocrita families