Geoscience Reference
In-Depth Information
Hymenoptera is one of the four largest
insect orders; it includes ants, bees, and
wasps. The winged forms have two pairs
of wings which are connected by little
hooks so they function as a single pair.
Hymenoptera are divided into the
advanced Apocrita (ants, bees, and true
wasps), which show a distinctive waist of
narrowed abdominal segments, and
Symphyta without a waist, which include
the sawflies, horntails, and wood wasps.
A great many species of Symphyta
have been found at Florissant. An
enormous number of parasitic wasps
(Ichneumonidae, Pompilidae) are known
at Florissant ( 241 ). These would have
parasitized other insects and spiders in the
complex forest ecosystem. The more
familiar vespid wasps, such as Palaeovespa
( 242 ), which make nests of paper-like cells,
241
241 Parasitic wasp Bracon
cockerelliHymenoptera:
Ichneumonidae; note the
curved antennae and long
ovipositor NHM. Length
14 mm 0.5 in.
242
242 Yellow-jacket wasp
Palaeovespa Hymenoptera:
Vespidae NHM. Length
14 mm 0.5 in.
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