The wasp is the name of certain stinging insects of the order Hymenoptera, which also includes ants, bees and sawflies.
The wasps are a cosmopolitan paraphyletic grouping of hundreds of thousands of species. The term wasp is sometimes used more narrowly for the common or garden wasps, Vespula vulgaris, and hornets (Vespa), which has are members of the eusocial family Vespidae. This has about 5000 species.
By far the greater number of wasp species (over 100,000) are the parasitic wasps.
The Asian Giant Hornet is the largest wasp in the world, with a body length of 50 mm (2 inches) and wingspan of 76 mm (3 inches).
The smallest wasps are solitary chalcid wasps in the family Mymaridae, including the world's smallest known insect, the Tanzanian parasitic wasp, which is smaller than a housefly's eye.
Wasps have biting mouthparts and antennae with 12 or 13 segments. They usually have wings and their abdomens are attached to their thorax by a narrow waist, the petiole.
In addition to their large compound eyes, wasps have several simple eyes known as ocelli, which are typically arranged in a triangle just forward of the vertex of the head.
While some species of wasp are social, the vast majority are solitary insects, many of them parasitoids.
Parasitoid wasps lay their eggs in the caterpillars of other insect species. Almost every pest insect species has at least one wasp species that preys upon it or parasitizes it.
Among social wasps, the queens devote themselves to egg-laying, the fertilised eggs producing female workers. The males arise from unfertilized eggs and have no sting.
The larvae are fed on insects, but the mature wasps feed mainly on fruit and sugar.
In winter the fecundated queens hibernate but the other wasps die.
Some wasps nest below ground others in trees or bushes.
All species of social wasps construct their nests using some form of plant fiber (mostly wood pulp) as the primary material
There is a species of solitary wasp called the mud dauber which builds its nests out of mud.
The pulp papermaking process is traditionally ascribed to Chinese Han Dynasty court official and eunuch Cai Lun (50-121 AD). The story goes that Cai Lun made the breakthrough, inspired by watching wasps gathering fibres from dead wood and plant stems and mixing them with saliva, to construct nests made of gray or brown papery material.
Sand wasps fly backwards out of the nest to make sure they'll remember what the way home looks like.
More people are stung by yellow jackets, a type of wasp, than any other wasp or bee.
The tarantula hawk wasp has a non-deadly sting so painful, experienced professionals will just suggest you to lie down and scream if stung, because most people lose verbal and physical coordination afterwards.
The venom of a wasp contains chemicals that attracts other wasps to also attack the victim.
Wasps taste like pine nuts.
Wasps are an important part of the food chain. They catch insects — including flies and caterpillars, and act as food for small mammals, birds, and spiders.
In 2001 Dutch scientists announced that they had found a way of using wasps to detect drugs or explosives in just one hour. The antennae of wasps are more sensitive than sniffer dogs' noses, which take six months to be trained.
Sources 1,342 QI Facts To Leave You Flabbergasted (Quite Interesting), The Encyclopedia of Useless Information By William Hartston
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| Pixiebay |
The wasps are a cosmopolitan paraphyletic grouping of hundreds of thousands of species. The term wasp is sometimes used more narrowly for the common or garden wasps, Vespula vulgaris, and hornets (Vespa), which has are members of the eusocial family Vespidae. This has about 5000 species.
By far the greater number of wasp species (over 100,000) are the parasitic wasps.
ANATOMY
The Asian Giant Hornet is the largest wasp in the world, with a body length of 50 mm (2 inches) and wingspan of 76 mm (3 inches).
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| The Asian giant hornet By NUMBER7isBEST |
The smallest wasps are solitary chalcid wasps in the family Mymaridae, including the world's smallest known insect, the Tanzanian parasitic wasp, which is smaller than a housefly's eye.
Wasps have biting mouthparts and antennae with 12 or 13 segments. They usually have wings and their abdomens are attached to their thorax by a narrow waist, the petiole.
In addition to their large compound eyes, wasps have several simple eyes known as ocelli, which are typically arranged in a triangle just forward of the vertex of the head.
BEHAVIOR
While some species of wasp are social, the vast majority are solitary insects, many of them parasitoids.
Parasitoid wasps lay their eggs in the caterpillars of other insect species. Almost every pest insect species has at least one wasp species that preys upon it or parasitizes it.
Among social wasps, the queens devote themselves to egg-laying, the fertilised eggs producing female workers. The males arise from unfertilized eggs and have no sting.
The larvae are fed on insects, but the mature wasps feed mainly on fruit and sugar.
 |
| Pixiebay |
In winter the fecundated queens hibernate but the other wasps die.
Some wasps nest below ground others in trees or bushes.
All species of social wasps construct their nests using some form of plant fiber (mostly wood pulp) as the primary material
There is a species of solitary wasp called the mud dauber which builds its nests out of mud.
The pulp papermaking process is traditionally ascribed to Chinese Han Dynasty court official and eunuch Cai Lun (50-121 AD). The story goes that Cai Lun made the breakthrough, inspired by watching wasps gathering fibres from dead wood and plant stems and mixing them with saliva, to construct nests made of gray or brown papery material.
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| Social wasps constructing a paper nest. By Kathy Jones |
Sand wasps fly backwards out of the nest to make sure they'll remember what the way home looks like.
RELATIONSHIP WITH HUMANS
More people are stung by yellow jackets, a type of wasp, than any other wasp or bee.
The tarantula hawk wasp has a non-deadly sting so painful, experienced professionals will just suggest you to lie down and scream if stung, because most people lose verbal and physical coordination afterwards.
 |
| Male tarantula hawk at Grant Ranch County Park, near San Jose, California |
The venom of a wasp contains chemicals that attracts other wasps to also attack the victim.
Wasps taste like pine nuts.
FUN WASP FACTS
Wasps are an important part of the food chain. They catch insects — including flies and caterpillars, and act as food for small mammals, birds, and spiders.
In 2001 Dutch scientists announced that they had found a way of using wasps to detect drugs or explosives in just one hour. The antennae of wasps are more sensitive than sniffer dogs' noses, which take six months to be trained.
Sources 1,342 QI Facts To Leave You Flabbergasted (Quite Interesting), The Encyclopedia of Useless Information By William Hartston
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