Vespoidea is a superfamily of

wasps 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. T ...

in the

order Order, ORDER or Orders may refer to: * Categorization, the process in which ideas and objects are recognized, differentiated, and understood * Heterarchy, a system of organization wherein the elements have the potential to be ranked a number of ...

Hymenoptera Hymenoptera is a large order of insects, comprising the sawflies, wasps, bees, and ants. Over 150,000 living species of Hymenoptera have been described, in addition to over 2,000 extinct ones. Many of the species are parasitic. Females typic ...

, although older

taxonomic Taxonomy is the practice and science of categorization or classification. A taxonomy (or taxonomical classification) is a scheme of classification, especially a hierarchical classification, in which things are organized into groups or types. A ...

schemes may vary in this categorization, particularly in whether to recognize the superfamilies Scolioidea (for scoliid wasps) or Formicoidea (for

ants Ants are eusocial insects of the family Formicidae and, along with the related wasps and bees, belong to the order Hymenoptera. Ants evolved from vespoid wasp ancestors in the Cretaceous period. More than 13,800 of an estimated total of 22,0 ...

). Vespoidea includes wasps with a large variety of lifestyles: eusocial, social, and solitary habits, predators, scavengers, parasitoids, and some herbivores.

Description

Vespoid wasp females have antennae with 10 flagellomeres, while males have 11 flagellomeres. The edge of the

pronotum The prothorax is the foremost of the three segments in the thorax of an insect, and bears the first pair of legs. Its principal sclerites (exoskeletal plates) are the pronotum ( dorsal), the prosternum (ventral), and the propleuron ( lateral) on ...

reaches or passes the tegula. Many species display some level of

sexual dimorphism Sexual dimorphism is the condition where the sexes of the same animal and/or plant species exhibit different morphological characteristics, particularly characteristics not directly involved in reproduction. The condition occurs in most anim ...

. Most species have fully developed wings, but some have reduced or absent wings in one or both sexes. As in other

Aculeata Aculeata is a subclade of Hymenoptera containing ants, bees, and stinging wasps. The name is a reference to the defining feature of the group, which is the modification of the ovipositor into a stinger. However, many members of the group cannot ...

, only the females are ever capable of

stinging Sting may refer to: * Stinger or sting, a structure of an animal to inject venom, or the injury produced by a stinger * Irritating hairs or prickles of a stinging plant, or the plant itself Fictional characters and entities * Sting (Middle-eart ...

Phylogenetics and taxonomy

Research based on four

nuclear gene A nuclear gene is a gene whose physical DNA nucleotide sequence is located in the cell nucleus of a eukaryote. The term is used to distinguish nuclear genes from genes found in mitochondria or chloroplasts. The vast majority of genes in eukaryote ...

s (elongation factor-1α F2 copy, long-wavelength

rhodopsin Rhodopsin, also known as visual purple, is a protein encoded by the RHO gene and a G-protein-coupled receptor (GPCR). It is the opsin of the rod cells in the retina and a light-sensitive receptor protein that triggers visual phototransduction ...

, wingless and the D2–D3 regions of 28S

ribosomal RNA Ribosomal ribonucleic acid (rRNA) is a type of non-coding RNA which is the primary component of ribosomes, essential to all cells. rRNA is a ribozyme which carries out protein synthesis in ribosomes. Ribosomal RNA is transcribed from ribosomal ...

—2700 bp in total) suggests the historical view of family relationships need to be changed, with Rhopalosomatidae as a

sister group In phylogenetics, a sister group or sister taxon, also called an adelphotaxon, comprises the closest relative(s) of another given unit in an evolutionary tree. Definition The expression is most easily illustrated by a cladogram: Taxon A and t ...

of the Vespidae and the clade Rhopalosomatidae + Vespidae as sister to all other classical vespoids and apoids. In a study in 2008, the superfamily Apoidea was found to nest within the Vespoidea, suggesting the dismantling of Vespoidea (''

sensu lato ''Sensu'' is a Latin word meaning "in the sense of". It is used in a number of fields including biology, geology, linguistics, semiotics, and law. Commonly it refers to how strictly or loosely an expression is used in describing any particular co ...

'') into many smaller superfamilies:

Formicoidea Ants are eusocial insects of the family Formicidae and, along with the related wasps and bees, belong to the order Hymenoptera. Ants evolved from vespoid wasp ancestors in the Cretaceous period. More than 13,800 of an estimated total of 22,0 ...

Scolioidea The Scoliidae, the scoliid wasps, are a family of about 560 species found worldwide. They tend to be black, often marked with yellow or orange, and their wing tips are distinctively corrugated. Males are more slender and elongated than females, wi ...

Tiphioidea Tiphioidea is a suggested superfamily of stinging wasps in the order Hymenoptera. There are three families in Tiphioidea, Bradynobaenidae, Tiphiidae, and Sierolomorphidae. Recent research in molecular phylogenetics has resulted in the reorgani ...

, Thynnoidea, and

Pompiloidea Pompiloidea is a superfamily that includes spider wasps and velvet ants, among others. in the order Hymenoptera. There are 4 families in Pompiloidea. Families These four families belong to the superfamily Pompiloidea: * Mutillidae (velvet ants ...

in addition to a much more narrowly defined Vespoidea (restricted to

Rhopalosomatidae Rhopalosomatidae is a family of Hymenoptera containing about 68 extant species in four genera that are found worldwide. Three fossil genera are known. The adults resemble ants and may be confused with them. They are yellowish with red or brown m ...

and

Vespidae The Vespidae are a large (nearly 5000 species), diverse, cosmopolitan family of wasps, including nearly all the known eusocial wasps (such as ''Polistes fuscatus'', '' Vespa orientalis'', and ''Vespula germanica'') and many solitary wasps. Eac ...

). Their research also found families Mutillidae, Tiphiidae, and Bradynobaenidae to be

paraphyletic 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 ...

. A later study in 2013 confirmed the need for revision of high-level relationships, and the pattern of sister-group relationships within the putative Vespoidea largely matched the same basic pattern as the 2008 study. This study also noted a paraphyletic Bradynobaenidae and Tiphiidae. The extinct family of

Armaniidae Armaniidae was a name formerly given to a group of extinct ant-like hymenopterans known from a series of Cretaceous fossils found in Asia and Africa. Armaniidae has been suggested by several authors to belong to the family Formicidae as one of t ...

also was formerly considered to be a group of "ant-like wasps" and was also classified under Vespoidea. However, additional work by Borysenko in 2017 found these species to be basal members of Formicidae, placing three genera under

Sphecomyrminae Sphecomyrminae is an extinct subfamily of ants in family Formicidae known from a series of Cretaceous fossils found in North America, Europe, and Asia. Sphecomyrminae contains eight genera, divided into two tribes Sphecomyrmini and Zigrasimeciin ...

and considering the rest ''

incertae sedis ' () or ''problematica'' is a term used for a taxonomic group where its broader relationships are unknown or undefined. Alternatively, such groups are frequently referred to as "enigmatic taxa". In the system of open nomenclature, uncertaint ...

''.

Families retained in Vespoidea

– rhopalosomatid wasps *

–

paper wasp Paper wasps are vespid wasps that gather fibers from dead wood and plant stems, which they mix with saliva, and use to construct nests made of gray or brown papery material. Some types of paper wasps are also sometimes called umbrella wasps, d ...

hornet Hornets (insects in the genus ''Vespa'') are the largest of the eusocial wasps, and are similar in appearance to their close relatives yellowjackets. Some species can reach up to in length. They are distinguished from other vespine wasps by th ...

potter wasp Potter wasps (or mason wasps), the Eumeninae, are a cosmopolitan wasp group presently treated as a subfamily of Vespidae, but sometimes recognized in the past as a separate family, Eumenidae. Recognition Most eumenine species are black or brown ...

yellow jacket Yellowjacket or yellowjacket is the common name in North America for predatory social wasps of the genera ''Vespula'' and '' Dolichovespula''. Members of these genera are known simply as "wasps" in other English-speaking countries. Most of these ...

s, and relatives

Families represented by
Formicoidea Ants are eusocial insects of the family Formicidae and, along with the related wasps and bees, belong to the order Hymenoptera. Ants evolved from vespoid wasp ancestors in the Cretaceous period. More than 13,800 of an estimated total of 22,0 ...

* Formicidae - ants

Families represented by
Pompiloidea Pompiloidea is a superfamily that includes spider wasps and velvet ants, among others. in the order Hymenoptera. There are 4 families in Pompiloidea. Families These four families belong to the superfamily Pompiloidea: * Mutillidae (velvet ants ...

Mutillidae The Mutillidae are a family of more than 7,000 species of wasps whose wingless females resemble large, hairy ants. Their common name velvet ant refers to their dense pile of hair, which most often is bright scarlet or orange, but may also be bla ...

– velvet ants/velvet wasps * Myrmosidae – myrmosid wasps *

Pompilidae Wasps in the family Pompilidae are commonly called spider wasps, spider-hunting wasps, or pompilid wasps. The family is cosmopolitan, with some 5,000 species in six subfamilies. Nearly all species are solitary (with the exception of some group- ...

–

spider wasp Wasps in the family Pompilidae are commonly called spider wasps, spider-hunting wasps, or pompilid wasps. The family is cosmopolitan, with some 5,000 species in six subfamilies. Nearly all species are solitary (with the exception of some group- ...

s * Sapygidae – sapygid wasps

Families represented by
Scolioidea The Scoliidae, the scoliid wasps, are a family of about 560 species found worldwide. They tend to be black, often marked with yellow or orange, and their wing tips are distinctively corrugated. Males are more slender and elongated than females, wi ...

Scoliidae The Scoliidae, the scoliid wasps, are a family of about 560 species found worldwide. They tend to be black, often marked with yellow or orange, and their wing tips are distinctively corrugated. Males are more slender and elongated than females, wi ...

– scoliid wasps

Families represented by
Tiphioidea Tiphioidea is a suggested superfamily of stinging wasps in the order Hymenoptera. There are three families in Tiphioidea, Bradynobaenidae, Tiphiidae, and Sierolomorphidae. Recent research in molecular phylogenetics has resulted in the reorgani ...

Bradynobaenidae The Bradynobaenidae are a family of wasps similar to the Mutillidae, differing most visibly in the presence, in females, of a suture separating the pronotum from the mesonotum. These species are often found in arid regions. Recent classification ...

– bradynobaenid wasps * Sierolomorphidae – sierolomorphid wasps *

Tiphiidae The Tiphiidae (also known as the tiphiid wasps) are a family of large, solitary wasps whose larvae are parasitoids of various beetle larvae, especially those in the superfamily Scarabaeoidea. Until recently, this family contained several additiona ...

– tiphiid wasps

Families represented by Thynnoidea

Chyphotidae The Chyphotidae are a family of wasps similar to the Mutillidae, differing most visibly in the presence, in females, of a suture separating the pronotum from the mesonotum. These species are found primarily in arid regions in the southwestern U ...

– chyphotid wasps *

Thynnidae The Thynnidae (also known as thynnid wasps or flower wasps) are a family of large, solitary wasps whose larvae are almost universally parasitoids of various beetle larvae, especially those in the superfamily Scarabaeoidea. Until recently, the co ...

– thynnid wasps

References

External links

* {{Taxonbar, from=Q425636 Apocrita superfamilies