Wasp

A wasp is any insect belonging to the narrow-waisted suborder Apocrita of the order Hymenoptera that is neither a bee nor an ant; this does not include the broad-waisted sawflies (Symphyta), which resemble wasps but belong to a different suborder. Because their common ancestor is shared by bees and ants, wasps do not form a clade or a complete natural group with a single ancestor. Many wasps in the group Aculeata have the ability to sting their insect prey.

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Yellowjackets and hornets, for example, belong to the Vespidae family of wasps and are eusocial, living in a nest with an egg-laying queen and non-reproducing workers. The peculiar haplodiploid system of sex determination in Hymenoptera favours eusociality because it allows sisters to be quite closely connected to one another. The majority of wasp species, on the other hand, are solitary, with each adult female living and breeding on her own. Females usually have an ovipositor for depositing eggs in or near a food supply for the larvae, however, the ovipositor in the Aculeata is frequently transformed into a sting employed for defence or prey capture. Wasps perform an important function in the environment. 

Some are predators or pollinators, depending on whether they need to feed themselves or their nests. The cuckoo wasp, for example, is a kleptoparasite, laying eggs in the nests of other wasps. Many solitary wasps are parasitoids, which means they lay eggs on or in other insects (at any stage of development from egg to adult) and frequently provide such hosts for their own nests. Wasp larvae, unlike real parasites, eventually kill their hosts. Solitary wasps feed on practically every nuisance bug, making them useful in agriculture for biological pest management of whitefly in tomatoes and other crops.

Wasps originally appeared in the Jurassic, and by the Cretaceous, they had evolved into several different superfamilies. Wasps have spread to every section of the earth save the polar regions, and they are a successful and diversified group of insects with tens of thousands of identified species. The Asian giant hornet is the largest social wasp, measuring up to 5 centimetres (2.0 in) in length; among the largest solitary wasps are the tarantula hawks, which include the enormous scoliid of Indonesia (Megascolia procer). The world's smallest known insect, with a body length of only 0.139 mm (0.0055 in), and the smallest known flying insect, with a body length of just 0.15 mm (0.0059 in), are solitary chalcid wasps in the Mymaridae family.

Scientific Classification 

• Kingdom: Animalia

• Phylum: Arthropoda

• Class: Insecta

• Superorder: Hymenopterida

• Order: Hymenoptera

Anatomy 

Wasps, like all insects, have a hard exoskeleton that protects the head, the mesosoma (which includes the thorax and the first section of the abdomen), and the metasoma. The petiole, a slender waistband that connects the first and second segments of the abdomen, is present. The two pairs of membranous wings are connected by little hooks, and the forewings are larger than the hindwings; females in some species lack wings. A hard ovipositor is seen in females, which can be changed for injecting venom, piercing, or sawing. It can either lengthen or retract, and it might be grown into a stinger for both defence and paralysing prey.

Wasps have numerous simple eyes known as ocelli, which are normally positioned in a triangle slightly forward of the vertex of the head, in addition to their big compound eyes. Wasps have mandibles that are specialised for biting and cutting, just like grasshoppers, but their other mouthparts are shaped into a suctorial proboscis that allows them to consume nectar.

Wasp larvae resemble maggots and are adapted for life in a sheltered environment, which can be a host organism's body or a cell in a nest, where the larva either eats the provisions provided for it or is fed by the adults in sociable species. These larvae have a blind gut and a soft body with no limbs (presumably so that they do not foul their cell).

Diet 

Adult solitary wasps eat nectar, but they spend the majority of their time looking for food for their carnivorous young, which are generally insects or spiders. There is no mother care provided for their larval progeny other than feeding. During their development, several wasp species supply sustenance to their offspring on a regular basis (progressive provisioning). Others, like potter wasps (Eumeninae) and sand wasps (Ammophila, Sphecidae), build nests over and over again, stocking them with immobilised prey like one huge caterpillar, placing a single egg in or on its body, and then closing the entrance (mass provisioning).

Predatory and parasitoidal wasps use stings to subdue their prey. They eat a wide range of prey, primarily other insects, both larvae and adults (including other Hymenoptera). The Pompilidae family is known for collecting spiders to feed their nests.

Some social wasps are omnivorous, eating falling fruit, nectar, and carrion such as insects that have died. Adult male wasps will occasionally visit flowers in search of nectar. Polistes fuscatus, for example, frequently returns to forage in areas where they previously obtained prey. The larvae of many social animals release huge amounts of salivary secretions, which the adults eagerly devour. Sugars and amino acids are among them, and they may give crucial protein-building resources that adults would otherwise be unable to obtain (who cannot digest proteins).

Sex Determination 

Sex is decided via a haplodiploid system in wasps, as it is in other Hymenoptera, which means that females are unusually closely related to their sisters, allowing kin selection to favour the evolution of eusocial behaviour. Females are diploid, which means they have two sets of chromosomes and are born from fertilised eggs. Drones are males who develop from an unfertilized egg and have a haploid (n) number of chromosomes. Wasps keep sperm inside their bodies and manage how much is released for each egg as it is laid; if a female wants to generate a male egg, she simply lays the egg without fertilising it. Wasps have total voluntary control over the sex of their newborn baby wasp under most situations in most species. Muscidifurax uniraptor was infected with the bacterium Wolbachia, which resulted in thelytokous reproduction and the inability to create fertile, viable male progeny in an experiment.

Inbreeding Avoidance 

Through kin recognition, females of the solitary wasp parasitoid Venturia canescens can avoid mating with their brothers. In experiments, the likelihood of a female mating with an unrelated guy was rough twice as great as the likelihood of her mating with brothers. Female wasps appear to recognise siblings based on a chemical signature that males carry or produce. Inbreeding depression, which is caused by homozygous harmful recessive mutations, is reduced by sibling-mating avoidance.

Paper Wasps

Paper wasps are vespid wasps that collect fibres from dead wood and plant stems and combine them with saliva to make nests out of grey or brown papery material. Because of the unusual form of their nests, some varieties of paper wasps are also known as umbrella wasps.

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Unlike yellowjackets and hornets, which may be rather violent, polistine paper wasps will only strike if they or their nest are in danger. Their territoriality can lead to attacks on humans, and their stings are extremely painful and can cause a possibly fatal allergic reaction in some people, as with any venomous animals. Wasps with brighter aposematic colours are more poisonous, according to a study on European paper wasps (Polistes dominula), because they have larger poison glands and provide a greater warning signal to organisms threatening the nest.

Paper wasp on a spider lily leaf — gardeners consider them useful. In their natural habitat, most wasps are helpful and play an essential role in natural biocontrol. Nectar and other insects, such as caterpillars, flies, and beetle larvae, are eaten by paper wasps. Paper wasps are typically thought to be useful by gardeners because they are a known pollinator and feed on known garden pests.

Polistes Carolina 

Polistes Carolina is one of two red paper wasp species found in the eastern United States, and its propodeum has sharper ridges. It belongs to the Vespidae family as a social wasp (subfamily Polistinae). From Texas to Florida, north to New York, and west to Nebraska, they are native to the United States. They've also been discovered in Bermuda and Canada, where they're thought to be non-native. The wasp's common name comes from the colour of its head and body, which is reddish-brown. P. Carolina wasps are noted for building some of the largest nests of any wasp species, and they like to build them in safe places.

Red paper wasps (both sexes) are around 25–32 mm (0.98–1.26 in) long and have black wings that are 15–25 mm (0.59–0.98 in) long. Sometimes, brown stripes might be seen on the abdomen. Due to its extremely similar reddish-brown colouration, P. Carolina is frequently confused with P. Rugiginosus. In the eastern United States, these two species of red wasp are the only ones.

Great Black Wasp

These Digger wasps are mainly found in burrows and are part of the wider Digger wasp family. They are larger than typical wasps, with shiny black bodies that have a bluish tint to them.

They are not as menacing as they appear, as they only attack people on rare occasions. Unlike other wasps, they actually pollinate while feeding and are excellent pest controllers.

Blue Mud Dauber 

The blue mud dauber, also known as the blue wasp (Chalybion californicum), is a metallic blue mud dauber wasp that was first described in 1867 by Henri Louis Frédéric de Saussure. It is typically non-aggressive to humans. It resembles the steel-blue cricket hunter in shape and colour (Chlorion aerarium). Male wasps, like all wasps, lack an ovipositor and hence are unable to sting. It spans northern Mexico to southern Canada, as well as the majority of the United States. Hawaii, Bermuda, and Croatia are among the places where it has been introduced.

It is most well-known for preying on black widow spiders. Adults get their energy from flower nectar, which allows them to fly. Berberis vulgaris, Daucus carota, and Zizia aurea are among the common wildflowers they pollinate. Spiders, especially Latrodectus mactans, are fed to the larvae. Prey is found on the ground or behind rocks, which they prefer to hunt.

Females can build their own nests, but they frequently renovate ones abandoned by other wasp bees, especially those of Sceliphron caementarium, by removing any spiders acquired by S. camentarium and the larva, and replacing it with an egg and freshly caught spiders. In a year, they pass through several generations.

Social Wasps 

Only the Vespidae family, which includes the subfamilies Vespinae and Polistinae, contains social species among the dozens of extant wasp families. Social wasps are common models for Batesian mimicry by non-stinging insects, and they are also involved in mutually beneficial Müllerian mimicry of other distasteful insects such as bees and other wasps, thanks to their powerful stings and conspicuous warning colouration, which is often black and yellow. Multiple fibrous brood cells are constructed, arranged in a honeycombed pattern, and often surrounded by a larger protective envelope. 

All species of social wasps use some form of plant fibre (mostly wood pulp) as the primary material, though this can be supplemented with mud, plant secretions (e.g., resin), and secretions from the wasps themselves. Weathered wood fibres are gathered, softened by chewing, and mixed with saliva. Yellowjackets like Dolichovespula media and Dolichovespula sylvestris prefer to nest in trees and bushes, while Protopolybia exigua attaches its nests to the undersides of leaves and branches, and Polistes erythrocephalus prefers to nest near a water supply.

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Agelaia multipicta and Vespula germanica, for example, like to build their nests in holes in the ground, areas under houses, wall cavities, or lofts. While most wasp species have numerous combs in their nests, some species, such as Apoica flavissima, only have one. The length of the reproductive cycle varies depending on latitude; for example, in temperate climates, Polistes erythrocephalus has a substantially longer (up to 3 months longer) cycle.

Solitary Wasps 

Wasps are solitary insects in the great majority of cases. The adult female forages alone after mating, and if she constructs a nest, it does so for the sake of her own children. Solitary wasps may nest in small groups with other members of their species, but each is responsible for its own children (unless when stealing prey from other wasps or laying in other wasps' nests). Some solitary wasp species establish communal nests, with each insect having its own cell and supplying food for its own progeny, but they lack the division of labour and sophisticated behavioural patterns seen in eusocial species.

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Adult solitary wasps spend the majority of their time making their nests and searching for insects or spiders to feed their larvae. They have a wider range of nesting patterns than social wasps. Burrows are dug in the ground by many animals. Pollen wasps and mud daubers build mud cells in sheltered areas. Potter wasps make vase-like nests out of mud, frequently with numerous chambers, and attach them to tree limbs or walls.

Predatory wasp species usually sting their victim to subdue it, then lay their eggs on it or transport it back to their home, where an egg is set on the prey item and the nest is sealed, or multiple smaller prey items are deposited to feed a single developing larva. Apart from feeding their children, no other maternal care is provided. Cuckoo wasps, members of the Chrysididae family, are kleptoparasites that lay their eggs in the nests of unrelated host species.

Relationship With Humans 

As Pests

When social wasps grow very prevalent or nest close to structures, they are considered pests. When wasp colonies stop spawning new workers in late summer, the existing workers look for sweet meals and are more likely to come into touch with humans; if people react forcefully, the wasp will sting. Wasp nests built in or near dwellings, such as in roof areas, can be dangerous since wasps can bite people if they venture too close to the wasp nest. Stings are normally painful rather than hazardous, although, in rare circumstances, anaphylactic shock can result in death.

In Horticulture 

Commercially, parasitic wasps, particularly those of the Trichogrammatidae family, are used to provide biological control of insect pests. Encarsia Formosa, a parasitoid of a variety of whitefly species, was one of the first species to be employed. It was first used commercially in Europe in the 1920s, was surpassed by chemical pesticides in the 1940s, and then resurfaced in the 1970s. Encarsia is commonly used in greenhouses to control whitefly pests on tomato and cucumber plants, as well as aubergine (eggplant), marigold flowers, and strawberry plants. Several parasitic wasp species are natural aphid predators and can aid with aphid management. Aphidius matricariae, for example, is employed to control the peach-potato aphid.

In Fashion 

Since at least the nineteenth century, when diamond and emerald wasp brooches were produced in gold and silver settings, wasps have been modelled in jewellery. In the nineteenth and twentieth centuries, a trend for wasp-waisted female shapes with strongly constricted waistlines emphasised the wearer's hips and breast.

Interesting Facts About Wasps

• The pheromone in wasp venom induces other wasps to become more aggressive. Avoid swatting a wasp near its nest or other wasps.

• The venom in a wasp stinging should wear off in 24 hours, but for a small percentage of people, the poison produces anaphylactic shock, which can be fatal.

• A deodorant containing aluminium can be used to alleviate a common sting.

• Wasps live in colonies that establish self-contained societies, including queens, males, and workers in a caste system.

• The drone is the name given to a male wasp. The Queen's role is to mate with the Drone. They perish not long after completing this quest.

• Wasps do not form swarms.

• Trees and shrubs are harmed by European Hornets, which peel the bark from trees.

• Wasps give their young flesh to eat (e.g. insect larvae).

• Only young fertilised queen wasps make it through the winter. In the spring, they emerge from their overwintering to begin building new nests. The queen lays up to a dozen eggs at a time, and when the larvae hatch, she nourishes them until they become workers. After that, the workers go on a food hunt, feed the new larvae, and defend the nest.

• The colony produces males and new queens in the late summer. They fly away to mate, and the queens then seek out a suitable location to hibernate. The males, labourers, and foundation queen are all killed by the cold.

Conclusion 

Wasps are different compared to ants and bees depending on various behavioural and physical characteristics particularly their possession of a slender, smooth body and legs with relatively few hairs. In this article, we have come across wasp anatomy, diet and scientific classification and also different types of wasps. Scientists say that wasps provide key ecosystem services. The much-maligned insects serve as predators, act as pollinators and help disperse seeds, among other useful functions.