The wasps are insects belonging to the family Vespidae and belonging to one of the largest orders of insects, where there are also ants, bumblebees and bees, among others.They are eusocial animals, although there are also some species that prefer solitude.
One of the most distinctive characteristics of the wasps is the "waist", the area that divides the thorax of the abdomen.They can also be distinguished by having a stinger which they can use several times and not only once as in the case of bees.
The wasps make their nest of mud or vegetable fibers; same that are in the ground, in trees, as well as in ceilings and walls of human rooms; All this depending on the type of wasp we are talking about.In this article of Animals and Pets Online you will know the different types of wasps , we invite you to continue reading.
Subfamilies of Vespidos
To better understand everything related to the types of wasps, we must detail that there are a total of 6 subfamilies of vespidos or vespidae by their scientific name, these are: - Eumeninae -Pottery wasps with almost 200 genera, includes most wasp species.
- Euparagiinae -It is a subfamily with a unique genus of wasps, those of the genus Euparagia.
- Masarinae -Pollen wasps with 2 genera, feed on pollen and nectar instead of prey.
- Polistinae -They are tropical and subtropical wasps that have 5 genera, they are animals that live in colonies.
- Stenogastrinae -Subfamily that has a total of 8 genera, characterized by folding their wings behind their backs like bees.
- Vespinae -Eusocial wasps or living in colonies which has 4 genres, socialization is more developed than in the Polistinae.
Pottery wasps
The wasps of the subfamily Eumeninae or eumeninos, are known because some of the species within this subfamily build their nests using pot-shaped mud , they also use cavities in the ground, in wood or abandoned nests.Within this subfamily there are almost 200 different genera of wasps, most of them are solitary and some have primitive social characteristics.They can be dark color, black or brown and with patterns that contrast the background color, such as yellow or orange.They are animals that can fold their wings longitudinally, like most vespidos.They feed on caterpillars or larvae of beetles, also consume nectar which gives them energy to fly
Pollen wasps
The wasps of the subfamily Masarinae or masarinos, are insects that feed exclusively on pollen and the nectar of flowers.This behavior is more similar that of bees since in most wasps cannibalism is the common denominator.In this subfamily are the genres Gayellini and Masarini.Al Like the potters, they are dark in color with contrasting light tones that can be red, white, yellow, among others.They have mace-shaped antennae and live in mud nests or holes made in the ground.They can be found in South Africa , North America and South America in desert regions.
Tropical and subtropical wasps
Polistinos or wasps Polistinae are a subfamily of vespids, where we can find a total of 5 different genres.These are Polistes, Mischocyttauros, Polybia, Brachygastra, Ropalidia. These are wasps that live in tropical and subtropical climates, in addition to being eusocial.They have a narrow abdomen, with curved antennae.in the case of males, female queens are similar to female workers, which is rare since usually the queen of a colony is much larger.The genera Polybia, Brachygastra have the peculiarity of producing honey .
Vespinos
They are also known as wasps Vespinae , it is a subfamily that has 4 genera, we talk about Dolichovespula, Provespa, Vespa and Vespula. Some of these species live in colonies, others are parasitic and lay their eggs in the nests of other insects.They are wasps that have a more developed sense of socialization than in the case of Polistinae .The nests are of a kind of paper, formed by chewed wood fiber, make their nests in trees and underground nests.We can find them in all the continents of the world, with the exception of Antarctica. They feed on insects and in some cases meat from dead animals.
Some species invade the nests of other species, kill the queen of the colony and force the worker wasps to take care of invasive offspring.They can invade nests of the same species or nests of species with which they are related sco.In the Vespa genus are the wasps that are colloquially called hornets, because they are more robust than traditional wasps.
The genus Euparagiinae and Stenogastrinae
In the case of the wasp Euparagiinae subfamily there is only one genus, we talk about the Euparagia. They are characterized by having alar vein, they also have a characteristic spot in the mesothorax and front legs with unique shapes.They live in desert regions in the United States and Mexico.The Stenogastrinae subfamily on the other hand has a total of 8 genera, where we find the genus Anischnogaster , Cochlischnogaster, Eustenogaster, Liostenogaster, Metischnogaster, Parischnogaster, Stenogaster and Parischnogaster. Wasps characterized by folding their wings behind their backs and cannot do so longitudinally like the rest of them.
In this subfamily there are species that live in colonies and species that live alone , are found in tropical regions of Asia, Indochina, India and Indonesia.
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