The wasps are the insects belonging to the Vespidae family and belonging to one of the largest orders of insects, where the ants, bumblebees and bees, among others. They are eusocial animals, although there are also some species that prefer solitude.
One of the most distinctive features of wasps is the "waist", the area that divides the thorax from the abdomen. They can also be distinguished by having a stinger which they can use several times and not just once as in the case of bees.
Wasps make their nest out of mud or vegetable fibers; same ones that are on the ground, in trees, as well as on the ceilings and walls of human habitations; all this depending on the type of wasp we are talking about. In this article on our site you will learn about the different types of wasps, we invite you to continue reading.
Vespid Subfamilies
To better understand everything related to the types of wasps, we must detail that there are a total of 6 subfamilies of the vespids or vespidae by their scientific name, these are:
- Eumeninae - Potter wasps with nearly 200 genera, includes most wasp species.
- Euparagiinae - It is a subfamily with a single genus of wasps, those of the genus Euparagia.
- Masarinae - Pollen Wasps with 2 genera, feed on pollen and nectar rather than 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 or colony wasps with 4 genera, socialization is more developed than in Polistinae.
As you can see, the Vespidae family is extensive and varied, with species that live in colonies and solitary, carnivorous species and others that live on pollen and nectar. There are even differences within the same subfamily, as occurs with the Vespinae.
Potter Wasps
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 the wood or abandoned nests. Within this subfamily there are almost 200 different genera of wasps, most of which are solitary and some have primitive social characteristics.
They can be dark, black, or brown in color and have patterns that contrast the background color, such as yellow or orange. They are animals that can fold their wings longitudinally, like most vespids. They feed on caterpillars or beetle larvae, they also consume nectar which gives them energy to fly
The pollen wasps
Wasps of the subfamily Masarinae or masarinos, are insects that feed exclusively on pollen and flower nectar. This behavior is more similar to that of bees since cannibalism is the common denominator in most wasps. In this subfamily are the genera Gayellini and Masarini.
Like potters, they are dark in color with contrasting light tones that can be red, white, yellow, among others. They have club-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
The polistinos or Polistinae wasps are a subfamily of the vespids, where we can find a total of 5 different genera. There are the genera Polistes, Mischocyttauros, Polybia, Brachygastra, Ropalidia. They are wasps that live in tropical and subtropical climates, as well as being eusocial.
They have a narrow abdomen, with curved antennae in the case of males. Female queens are similar to workers, which is rare since the queen of a colony is usually much larger. The genera Polybia, Brachygastra have the peculiarity of producing honey
The Vespinos
They are also known as Vespinae wasps, it is a subfamily that has 4 genera, we speak of 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 the Polistinae. The nests are made of a kind of paper, formed by chewed wood fiber, they make their nests in trees and underground nests. We can find them on all the continents of the world, with the exception of Antarctica. They feed on insects and in some cases meat of dead animals.
Some species invade the nests of other species, killing the queen of the colony and forcing the worker wasps to care for the invasive brood. They can invade nests of the same species or nests of species with which they are related. The genus Vespa includes wasps that are colloquially called hornets, because they are more robust than traditional wasps.
The Genus Euparagiinae and Stenogastrinae
In the case of the Euparagiinae subfamily of wasps there is only one genus, we speak of Euparagia. They are characterized by having wing venation, they also have a characteristic spot on the mesothorax and uniquely shaped front legs. They live in desert regions in the United States and Mexico.
The subfamily Stenogastrinae for its part has a total of 8 genera, where we find the genus Anischnogaster, Cochlischnogaster, Eustenogaster, Liostenogaster, Metischnogaster, Parischnogaster, Stenogaster and Parischnogaster. Wasps characterized by the fact that they fold 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, they are found in tropical regions of Asia, Indochina, India and Indonesia.
