The subfamily Philanthinae is one of the largest groups in the
wasp
A wasp is any insect of the narrow-waisted suborder Apocrita of the order Hymenoptera which is neither a bee nor an ant; this excludes the broad-waisted sawflies (Symphyta), which look somewhat like wasps, but are in a separate suborder. Th ...
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 collectively includes well over 200 genera, containing well over 9 ...
, with about 1100 species in 9 genera, most of them in ''
Cerceris''; Alexander treats it as having only 8 genera. Historically, this subfamily has frequently been accorded family status. The subfamily consists of solitary,
predator
Predation is a biological interaction where one organism, the predator, kills and eats another organism, its prey. It is one of a family of common feeding behaviours that includes parasitism and micropredation (which usually do not kill th ...
y wasps, each genus having its own distinct and consistent prey preferences. The adult females dig tunnels in the ground for nesting.
As with all other
sphecoid
The Spheciformes is a paraphyletic assemblage of insect families which collectively comprise the "sphecoid wasps". Larvae are carnivorous.
These are all the members of the superfamily Apoidea
The superfamily Apoidea is a major group within t ...
wasps, the larvae are carnivorous; females hunt for prey on which to lays their eggs,
mass provisioning
Mass provisioning is a form of parental investment in which an adult insect, most commonly a hymenopteran such as a bee or wasp, stocks all the food for each of her offspring in a small chamber (a "cell") before she lays the egg. This behavior i ...
the nest cells with paralyzed, living prey that the larva feeds upon after it hatches from the egg, as seen in the species ''
Philanthus gibbosus
''Philanthus gibbosus'', which is commonly referred to as a beewolf due to its predation practices, is a species of bee-hunting wasp and is the most common and widespread member of the genus in North America. ''P. gibbosus'' is of the order Hymen ...
''.
References
External links
BWARS: Philanthinae(photographs of each species)
{{Taxonbar, from=Q2085852
Crabronidae
Apocrita subfamilies