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<sphecoid.htm> [For educational
purposes only] Glossary <Principal
Natural Enemy Groups >
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HYMENOPTERA, Sphecoidea -- <Images> & <Juveniles> Members of this superfamily largely provision their nests with
other insects. Generally the group
may be regarded as beneficial, the number of pest species that serve as prey
far exceeding that of the entomophagous species. Habits of the group are much more simplified when compared to
the Vespoidea and Apoidea, and there is little development of a complex
social life as in the latter. The
nests comprise either one cell or a group, and are located in diverse
places. Most species burrow in the
soil; but some build nests of mud, clay or sand, while others nest in stems
of plants or in a variety of cavities of suitable size (Clausen 1940/1962). Host preferences range wide, including almost all the more common
insect orders, though the most common groups serving as prey are Hemiptera,
Orthoptera, Hymenoptera, Homoptera, Diptera, Lepidoptera and spiders. In many species, especially those
attacking large hosts, only a single prey is placed in each cell, while
others may require a considerable number to bring each larva to
maturity. The prey may be temporarily
or permanently paralyzed, or it may be killed. Clausen (1940) noted a number of researchers who had worked on
the superfamily. Presently only the
family Sphecidae is considered with
13 subfamilies as follows:
Ampulicinae, Bembicinae, Cercerinae, Crabroninae, Larrinae,
Mellininae, Nyssoninae, Pemphredoninae, Philanthinae, Pseninae, Sphecinae,
Stizinae and Trypoxyloninae (see Taxnames
for respective file names). References: Please refer to <biology.ref.htm>, [Additional references
may be found at: MELVYL
Library] Insects
of Australia. 1991. CSIRO, Division
of Entomology, Melbourne University Press, 2nd Edition, pp 989. Insects
of Australia and New Zealand.
1926. R. J. Tillyard, Angus
& Robertson, Ltd, Sydney, p297. What wasp
is that? 2007. An interactive identification guide to the
Australasian families of Hymenoptera |