Hymenoptera

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Hymenoptera, bees, wasps, and ants. One of the most diverse and successful insect orders, comprising approximately 108,000 species worldwide, the hymenopterans can be defined as a group on the basis of wing morphology and most particularly the shared presence of a pedicel, which is also seen in the non-flighted ants. Despite such well known social species as Apis mellifera, and the colonial ants, most hymenopterans are in fact solitary. Hymenoptera is ecologically diverse, and includes a number of grotesque parasites (e.g., braconids, ichneumons) who inject eggs into living hosts (not unlike the creature brought to life by Ridley Scott in his 1979 classic, Alien). Economically beneficial, and pestiferous, hymenopterans have had a long and colorful history with man. A. mellifera has long graced human tables with honey, that most coveted of sweet things.

JGK