Wasps of the genus Sphex are cosmopolitan predators that sting and paralyze prey insects. Sphex is one of many genera in the old digger wasp family Sphecidae, though most apart from the Sphecinae have now been moved to the family Crabronidae. There are over 130 known Sphex species.
Paper wasps are vespid wasps that gather fibers from dead wood and plant stems, which they mix with saliva, and use to construct nests made of gray or brown papery material. Some types of paper wasps are also sometimes called umbrella wasps, due to the distinctive design of their nests.
The Polistinae is a subfamily of eusocial wasps belonging to the family Vespidae. They are closely related to the more familiar wasps and true hornets of the subfamily Vespinae, containing four tribes. With about 1,100 species total, it is the second-most diverse subfamily within the Vespidae, and while most species are tropical or subtropical, they include some of the most frequently encountered large wasps in temperate regions.
Honey wasps are species in the genus Brachygastra of the family Vespidae. Brachygastra comprises 17 species of social paper wasps. The ancestral species are thought to have diverged about 32 million years ago within diverse Amazonian rainforest. Subsequent speciation within the genus is thought to have mostly occurred between 23 Ma and 10 Ma, during the time of the Andean uplift when the landscape was significantly altered due to tectonic activity. The current cladistic organisation of the genus has been heavily reliant on morphological characteristics.
Delta is an Old World genus of potter wasps with species predominantly distributed through tropical Africa and Asia. Some species are present in the Palearctic region, and a few have been introduced in the Nearctic and Neotropical regions. The members of this genus have a long metasomal petiole, like members of the genera Eumenes and Zeta.
Ropalidia is a large genus of eusocial paper wasps (Polistinae) in the tribe Ropalidiini distributed throughout the Afrotropical, Indomalayan and Australasian biogeographical regions. The genus Ropalidia is unique because it contains both independent and swarm-founding species. Ropalidia romandi is one of the swarm founding species, meaning that new nests are founded by a large group of workers with a smaller number of inseminated females, while Ropalidia revolutionalis is independent-founding, meaning that each nest is founded by a single foundress.
Synoeca is a genus of eusocial paper wasps found in the tropical forests of the Americas. Commonly known as warrior wasps or drumming wasps, they are known for their aggressive behavior, a threat display consisting of multiple insects guarding a nest beating their wings in a synchronized fashion, and an extremely painful sting. The sting is barbed and if used often kills the wasp, which may be the reason why such a striking defensive display is used. This display escalates from drumming inside the nest to hundreds of wasps moving on to the envelope of the nest and of continuing to drum and only if this does not deter the threat do the wasps begin to sting.
The Central American paper wasp is a nocturnal eusocial wasp. It is famous for its swarm based emigration behavior, and is native to the lowlands of Central and northern South America. This species has developed special night vision adaptations to facilitate their night-time swarming and foraging behavior and has important medicinal properties for the Pankararú people of Brazil.
Apoica flavissima is a paper wasp found primarily in South America. The species is distinguishable by its light coloring, unique single comb nests, and nocturnal nature. A notable feature of this species is the size dimorphism between queens and workers. Unlike most Vespidae wasps, Apocia flavissima queens are smaller than their worker counterparts which results in unique intraspecies relationships.
Synoeca cyanea, commonly known as the marimbondo-tatu in Brazil, is a swarm-founding eusocial wasp. Native to Brazil and Argentina, S. cyanea is one of the largest and most aggressive species of social wasps and is feared in many rural areas. It begins its colony cycle in the early spring and continues until nest abandonment. Throughout its life, S. cyanea forage sugary substances and animal carcasses for food and wood pulp for its nest. S. cyanea is also known for its strong venom, which is enough to cause haemolytic activity.
Agelaia pallipes is a species of social paper wasp found from Costa Rica to Brazil, Argentina and Paraguay. A. pallipes is ground-nesting and is one of the most aggressive wasps in South America. This species is a predator of other insects, including flies, moths, and ground crickets, as well as baby birds.
Polistes pacificus is a Neotropical species of social paper wasp belonging to the subfamily Polistinae and the family Vespidae. P. pacificus can be found distributed throughout most of Central and South America and parts of southern North America. First discovered by Johan Christian Fabricius in 1804, P. pacificus is much darker in color than some other more recognizable Polistes wasps, and is one of the insects commonly eaten by several indigenous groups in Venezuela and Colombia.
Polistes austroccidentalis is a kleptoparasitic paper wasp that is found in several regions of high altitude in Europe, and until 2017 was universally mistakenly referred to as Polistes semenowi, which is instead the correct name of the species formerly known as "Polistes sulcifer". As one of only four obligate parasites in the subgenus Polistes, it uses the nests of other paper wasps to rear its young. To evade detection by the host nest, P. austroccidentalis employs mimicry by adjusting its cuticular hydrocarbons to match those of the host. Once the host nest has been infiltrated, the parasitic female physically attacks the host queen to subdue her and become the colony's new queen. P. austroccidentalis displays several morphological adaptations for parasitism such as increased mandible size and an enlarged Van der Vecht's organ. This species is unusual because it does not have the ability to produce workers and is only able to produce individuals who have the capacity to reproduce.
Leipomeles dorsata is a neotropical paper wasp that is found across Central America and northern South America. It is a eusocial wasp with little differentiation between reproducing and non-reproducing females. In fact, workers can become temporary reproductives if the main reproductives are killed, allowing reproduction to continue until the main reproductive population recovers. The colony cycles through different ratios of main reproductive females and subordinate reproductive females, starting with few or no primary reproducing females, and increasing until there are only main reproductives.
Polybioides raphigastra is a species of social wasp found in the forests of South East Asia and Indonesia. It has recently been placed in the tribe Ropalidiini. This species is known for the downward-spiraling shape of their nests, and for having colony sizes exceeding ten thousand members.
Synoeca surinama is a Neotropical swarm-founding wasp of the tribe Epiponini. It is known for its metallic blue and black appearance and painful sting. S. surinama builds nests on tree trunks and can be found in tropical climates of South America. When preparing to swarm, there are a number of pre-swarming behaviors that members of S. surinama colonies partake in, such as buzzing runs and occasional brood cannibalism. In S. surinama, social environmental conditions determine the caste ranks of individuals in the developing brood. Unlike less primitive Hymenoptera species, S. surinama display little morphological variation between egg laying queens and workers. S. surinama wasps visit flowering plants and are considered pollinators. When these wasps sting, the stinger is left in the victim and the wasp ultimately dies.
Synoeca septentrionalis is one of five species of wasps in the genus Synoeca. It is a swarm-founding wasp that is also eusocial, exhibiting complicated nest structure and defense mechanisms and a colony cycle including a pre-emergence phase and a post-emergence phase. It is typically found in areas from Central to South America. This wasp is one of the larger species of paper wasps and exhibits multiple morphological adaptations as a result of this. Synoeca septentrionalis is known for possessing a very painful sting.
Brachygastra scutellaris, a honey wasp, is a Neotropical, swarm-founding species that is found in South America and has a medium-sized population of 100-1000 individuals per colony. It stores large amounts of nectar in its nest for the production of honey, and it was even found that at certain times of the year, the nectar is toxic to humans, as they will extract nectar from hallucinogenic plants, depending on the season.
Jacobus van der Vecht, nicknamed Jaap, was a Dutch entomologist who specialised in Hymenoptera, especially those of the East Indies and New Guinea.
Van der Vecht's gland or Van der Vecht's organ is a gland which is located in an area of modified cuticle on the rearmost gastral sternite of female wasps. This gland secretes chemicals which are important in the determination and maintenance of the hierarchy of groups of eusocial wasps and are used in the defence of the nests in others. In the Asian giant hornet the van der Vecht's gland is used to scent mark hives of honey bees to attract other members of their colony to cooperatively attack the hive; the only known case of the gland's use to scent mark a food source. In the cleptoparasitic paper wasp Polistes semenowi the female usurps the host foundress, usually Polistes dominula and uses an enlarged Van der Vecht's gland to produce large quantities of hydrocarbons and to control the host workers, and even sometimes the host foundress. The gland was discovered by, and named in honour of, the Dutch entomologist Jacobus van der Vecht.
