Harpactus | |
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Harpactus laevis | |
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Genus: | Harpactus |
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Harpactus is a genus of hunting wasps in the tribe Bembicini.
The Ichneumonidae, also known as ichneumon wasps, ichneumonid wasps, ichneumonids, or Darwin wasps, are a family of parasitoid wasps of the insect order Hymenoptera. They are one of the most diverse groups within the Hymenoptera with roughly 25,000 species described as of 2016. However, this likely represents less than a quarter of their true richness as reliable estimates are lacking, along with much of the most basic knowledge about their ecology, distribution, and evolution. It is estimated that there are more species in this family than there are species of birds and mammals combined. Ichneumonid wasps, with very few exceptions, attack the immature stages of holometabolous insects and spiders, eventually killing their hosts. They thus fulfill an important role as regulators of insect populations, both in natural and semi-natural systems, making them promising agents for biological control.
Dorylus, also known as driver ants, safari ants, or siafu, is a large genus of army ants found primarily in central and east Africa, although the range also extends to southern Africa and tropical Asia. The term siafu is a loanword from Swahili, and is one of numerous similar words from regional Bantu languages used by indigenous peoples to describe various species of these ants. Unlike the New World members of the former subfamily Ecitoninae, members of this genus form temporary subterranean bivouacs in underground cavities which they excavate and inhabit - either for a few days or up to three months. Also, unlike some New World army ants, driver ants are not specialized predators of other species of ant, instead being more generalistic with a diet consisting of a diversity of arthropods. Their colonies are enormous compared to other ant species, and can contain over 20 million individuals. As with their American counterparts, workers exhibit caste polymorphism with the soldiers having particularly large heads that power their scissor-like mandibles. They are capable of stinging, but very rarely do so, relying instead on their powerful shearing jaws. A large part of their diet consists of earthworms. Driver ant queens are the largest living ants known, with the largest measuring between 40 - 63 millimeters in total body length depending on their physiological condition.
The Bembicini, or sand wasps, are a large tribe of bembecid wasps, comprising 20 genera. Bembicines are predators on various groups of insects. The type of prey captured tends to be rather consistent within each genus, with flies (Diptera) being the most common type of prey taken. Nests are typically short, simple burrows, with a single enlarged chamber at the bottom which is stocked with freshly paralysed prey items for the developing wasp larva; the egg may sometimes be laid before the chamber is completely stocked. It is common for numerous females to excavate nests within a small area where the soil is suitable, creating large and sometimes very dense nesting aggregations, which tend to attract various species of parasitic flies and wasps, many of which are cleptoparasites; in some cases, the sand wasps prey on their own parasites (e.g.,), a surprisingly rare phenomenon in the animal kingdom. Although sand wasps are normally yellow and black, some are black and white with bright green eyes.
The Evanioidea are a small hymenopteran superfamily that includes three extant families, two of which are much more closely related to one another than they are to the remaining family, Evaniidae. The rich fossil record, however, helps fill in the gaps between these lineages. They all share the trait of having the metasoma attached very high above the hind coxae on the propodeum.
William Edward Shuckard was an English bookseller and entomologist. He was also librarian of the Royal Society and translated Manual of Entomology Hermann Burmeister (1807-1892). He was a specialist in Hymenoptera but worked on Coleoptera in his early years.
Pemphredonidae is a family of aphid wasps formerly treated as the subfamily Pemphredoninae. There are 19 genera and 556 described species in the family.
Atta cephalotes is a species of leafcutter ant in the tribe Attini. A single colony of ants can contain up to 5 million members, and each colony has one queen that can live more than 20 years. The colony comprises different castes, known as "task partitioning", and each caste has a different job to do.
The Pepsinae are a subfamily of the spider wasp family, Pompilidae, including the two genera of large tarantula hawks, as well as many genera of smaller species.
Priocnemis is a genus of pepsine spider wasp containing around 30 species.
Evagetes is a genus of spider wasps from the family Pompilidae. There are 72 described species, of which 58 are found in the Palaearctic region, 11 in the Nearctic region, with a few penetrating to the Afrotropical, Oriental and Neotropic regions. Evagetes wasps are kleptoparasitic on other pompilid wasps, especially the genera Arachnospila, Anoplius, Episyron and Pompilus, digging into their sealed burrows, eating the host egg and replacing it with an egg of its own. Evagetes wasps are characterised by their very short antennae. Most are species are black with the base of the antennae rufous, several Evagetes species are very metallic bluish insects.
Evagetes crassicornis is a kleptoparasitic spider wasp with a holarctic distribution.
Neivamyrmex is a genus of army ants in the subfamily Dorylinae.
Aenictus gracilis is a species of reddish brown army ant found in Borneo, Indonesia, Malaysia, Philippines, Bangladesh, India, Myanmar, and Sri Lanka.
Crossocerus is a genus of square-headed wasps in the family Crabronidae. There are at least 250 described species in Crossocerus.
Pemphredon is a genus of digger wasps in the family Pemphredonidae. The genus is common in the Holarctic, with 12 species represented in Europe. Several species are considered beneficial because of their specialization in aphids.
The Thynnidae are a family of large, solitary wasps whose larvae are almost universally parasitoids of various beetle larvae, especially those in the superfamily Scarabaeoidea. Until recently, the constituents of this family were classified in the family Tiphiidae, but multiple studies have independently confirmed that thynnids are a separate lineage.
Pepsini is a tribe of spider wasps in the family Pompilidae.
Hyptia is a genus of ensign wasps in the family Evaniidae. There are at least 50 described species in Hyptia. Most Hyptia can be differentiated from other genera by heavily reduced venation of the forewings, wherein only one closed cell is present.
Gorytina is a subtribe of sand wasps in the family Bembicidae. There are at least 20 genera and 370 described species in Gorytina.