Apocrita is a suborder of

insect Insects (from Latin ') are Hexapoda, hexapod invertebrates of the class (biology), class Insecta. They are the largest group within the arthropod phylum. Insects have a chitinous exoskeleton, a three-part body (Insect morphology#Head, head, ...

s in the order

Hymenoptera Hymenoptera is a large order of insects, comprising the sawflies, wasps, bees, and ants. Over 150,000 living species of Hymenoptera have been described, in addition to over 2,000 extinct ones. Many of the species are parasitic. Females typi ...

. It includes

wasp A wasp is any insect of the narrow-waisted suborder Apocrita of the order Hymenoptera which is neither a bee nor an ant; this excludes the broad-waisted sawflies (Symphyta), which look somewhat like wasps, but are in a separate suborder ...

s, bees, and

ant Ants are Eusociality, eusocial insects of the Family (biology), family Formicidae and, along with the related wasps and bees, belong to the Taxonomy (biology), order Hymenoptera. Ants evolved from Vespoidea, vespoid wasp ancestors in the Cre ...

s, and consists of many families. It contains the most advanced hymenopterans and is distinguished from

Symphyta Sawflies are wasp-like insects that are in the suborder Symphyta within the order Hymenoptera, alongside ants, bees, and wasps. The common name comes from the saw-like appearance of the ovipositor, which the females use to cut into the plants ...

by the narrow "waist" ( petiole) formed between the first two segments of the actual

abdomen The abdomen (colloquially called the gut, belly, tummy, midriff, tucky, or stomach) is the front part of the torso between the thorax (chest) and pelvis in humans and in other vertebrates. The area occupied by the abdomen is called the abdominal ...

; the first abdominal segment is fused to the thorax, and is called the propodeum. Therefore, it is general practice, when discussing the body of an apocritan in a technical sense, to refer to the mesosoma and metasoma (or gaster) rather than the "thorax" and "abdomen", respectively. The evolution of a constricted waist was an important adaption for the

parasitoid In evolutionary ecology, a parasitoid is an organism that lives in close association with its host (biology), host at the host's expense, eventually resulting in the death of the host. Parasitoidism is one of six major evolutionarily stable str ...

lifestyle of the ancestral apocritan, allowing more maneuverability of the female's ovipositor. The ovipositor either extends freely or is retracted, and may be developed into a stinger for both defense and paralyzing prey. Larvae are legless and blind, and either feed inside a host (plant or animal) or in a nest cell provisioned by their mothers. Apocrita has historically been split into two groups, Parasitica and Aculeata. Aculeata is a

clade In biology, a clade (), also known as a Monophyly, monophyletic group or natural group, is a group of organisms that is composed of a common ancestor and all of its descendants. Clades are the fundamental unit of cladistics, a modern approach t ...

whose name is in standard use. "Parasitica" is not a clade, as it is

paraphyletic Paraphyly is a taxonomic term describing a grouping that consists of the grouping's last common ancestor and some but not all of its descendant lineages. The grouping is said to be paraphyletic ''with respect to'' the excluded subgroups. In co ...

: the clade would contain the Aculeata. "Parasitica" is therefore a rankless grouping in many present classifications, if it appears at all. Parasitica comprises the majority of hymenopteran insects, its members living as parasitoids. Most species are small, with the ovipositor adapted for piercing. In some hosts, the parasitoids induce

metamorphosis Metamorphosis is a biological process by which an animal physically develops including birth transformation or hatching, involving a conspicuous and relatively abrupt change in the animal's body structure through cell growth and different ...

prematurely, and in others it is prolonged. There are even species that are hyperparasites, or parasitoids on other parasitoids. The Parasitica lay their eggs inside or on another insect (egg, larva or pupa) and their larvae grow and develop within or on that host. The host is nearly always killed. Many parasitic hymenopterans are used as

biological control Biological control or biocontrol is a method of controlling pests, whether pest animals such as insects and mites, weeds, or pathogens affecting animals or plants by using other organisms. It relies on predation, parasitism, herbivory, or o ...

agents to control pests, such as

caterpillar Caterpillars ( ) are the larval stage of members of the order Lepidoptera (the insect order comprising butterflies and moths). As with most common names, the application of the word is arbitrary, since the larvae of sawflies (suborder ...

s, true bugs and hoppers,

flies Flies are insects of the Order (biology), order Diptera, the name being derived from the Ancient Greek, Greek δι- ''di-'' "two", and πτερόν ''pteron'' "wing". Insects of this order use only a single pair of wings to fly, the hindwin ...

, and weevils. Aculeata is a

monophyletic In biological cladistics for the classification of organisms, monophyly is the condition of a taxonomic grouping being a clade – that is, a grouping of organisms which meets these criteria: # the grouping contains its own most recent co ...

group that includes those species in which the female's ovipositor is modified into a stinger to inject

venom Venom or zootoxin is a type of toxin produced by an animal that is actively delivered through a wound by means of a bite, sting, or similar action. The toxin is delivered through a specially evolved ''venom apparatus'', such as fangs or a sti ...

. Groups within Aculeata include the familiar ants, bees, and various types of parasitic and predatory wasps; it also includes all of the

social Social organisms, including human(s), live collectively in interacting populations. This interaction is considered social whether they are aware of it or not, and whether the exchange is voluntary or not. Etymology The word "social" derives fro ...

hymenopterans. Among the nonparasitic and nonsocial Aculeata, larvae are fed with captured prey (typically alive and paralyzed) or may be fed pollen and nectar. The

Aculeata feed their young prey (

paper wasp Paper wasps are a type of Eusociality, social vespid wasps. The term is typically used to refer to members of the Vespidae, vespid subfamily Polistinae, though it often colloquially includes members of the subfamilies Vespinae (hornets and yel ...

s and

hornet Hornets (insects in the genus ''Vespa'') are the largest of the Eusociality, eusocial wasps, and are similar in appearance to yellowjackets, their close relatives. Some species can reach up to in length. They are distinguished from other Vespi ...

s), or

pollen Pollen is a powdery substance produced by most types of flowers of seed plants for the purpose of sexual reproduction. It consists of pollen grains (highly reduced Gametophyte#Heterospory, microgametophytes), which produce male gametes (sperm ...

and

nectar Nectar is a viscous, sugar-rich liquid produced by Plant, plants in glands called nectaries, either within the flowers with which it attracts pollination, pollinating animals, or by extrafloral nectaries, which provide a nutrient source to an ...

(bees), or perhaps seeds,

fungi A fungus (: fungi , , , or ; or funguses) is any member of the group of eukaryotic organisms that includes microorganisms such as yeasts and mold (fungus), molds, as well as the more familiar mushrooms. These organisms are classified as one ...

, or nonviable eggs (ants).

Extant families and superfamilies

The Apocrita contains a large number of families. Some traditional taxa such as the Parasitica (containing many families of

parasitoid wasp Parasitoid wasps are a large group of hymenopteran Superfamily (zoology), superfamilies, with all but the wood wasps (Orussoidea) being in the wasp-waisted Apocrita. As parasitoids, they lay their eggs on or in the bodies of other arthropods, ...

s) have been found on molecular analysis to be

Parasitoid In evolutionary ecology, a parasitoid is an organism that lives in close association with its host (biology), host at the host's expense, eventually resulting in the death of the host. Parasitoidism is one of six major evolutionarily stable str ...

ism evolved once, and it is found today across most Apocritan families, though it has been secondarily lost several times. The

phylogenetic tree A phylogenetic tree or phylogeny is a graphical representation which shows the evolutionary history between a set of species or taxa during a specific time.Felsenstein J. (2004). ''Inferring Phylogenies'' Sinauer Associates: Sunderland, MA. In ...

gives a condensed overview of the phylogeny, illustrated with major groups. The sawflies are paraphyletic as the Apocrita evolved inside that group. The tree is not fully resolved. Cladogram of Apocrita after Peters et al.(2017) *Suborder Apocrita **Infraorder Aculeata ***Superfamily

Apoidea The superfamily Apoidea is a major group (of over 30 000 species) within the Hymenoptera, which includes two traditionally recognized lineages, the "sphecoid" wasps, and the bees. Molecular phylogeny demonstrates that the bees arose from ...

( bees and sphecoid wasps) ****Family Ammoplanidae ****Family Ampulicidae ( cockroach wasps) ****Family Astatidae ****Family Bembicidae (sand wasps) ****Family

Crabronidae The Crabronidae is a large family of wasps within the superfamily Apoidea. Taxonomy and phylogeny This family has historically been treated as a subfamily in the now-defunct Spheciformes group under the family Sphecidae. The Spheciformes inclu ...

****Family Mellinidae ****Family Pemphredonidae ****Family Philanthidae (bee wolves) ****Family Psenidae ****Family Sphecidae ( digger wasps) ****Family † Angarosphecidae ****Family † Paleomelittidae ****Family † Temnogynidae ****Clade Anthophila *****Family Andrenidae (mining bees) *****Family

Apidae Apidae is the largest family within the superfamily Apoidea, containing at least 5700 species of bees. The family includes some of the most commonly seen bees, including bumblebees and honey bees, but also includes stingless bees (also used for ...

(

carpenter bee Carpenter bees are species in the genus ''Xylocopa'' of the subfamily Xylocopinae. The genus includes some 500 bees in 31 subgenera. The common name "carpenter bee" derives from their nesting behavior; nearly all species burrow into hard plant m ...

s, digger bees, cuckoo bees, bumble bees, orchid bees,

stingless bee Stingless bees (SB), sometimes called stingless honey bees or simply meliponines, are a large group of bees (from about 462 to 552 described species), comprising the Tribe (biology), tribe Meliponini (or subtribe Meliponina according to other aut ...

s, and honeybees) *****Family Colletidae ( yellow-faced bees and plasterer bees) *****Family

Halictidae Halictidae is the second-largest family of bees (clade Anthophila) with nearly 4,500 species. They are commonly called sweat bees (especially the smaller species), as they are often attracted to perspiration. Halictid species are an extremely div ...

("sweat bees") *****Family Megachilidae ( leaf-cutting bees) *****Family Melittidae *****Family Stenotritidae ***Superfamily Chrysidoidea ****Family Bethylidae ****Family Chrysididae ( cuckoo wasps) ****Family Dryinidae ****Family Embolemidae ****Family Plumariidae ****Family Sclerogibbidae ****Family Scolebythidae ***Superfamily Formicoidea ****Family Formicidae (

s) ***Superfamily Pompiloidea ****Family Mutillidae ( velvet ants) ****Family Myrmosidae ****Family Pompilidae ( spider wasps) ****Family Sapygidae ***Superfamily Scolioidea ****Family Scoliidae ***Superfamily Tiphioidea ****Family Bradynobaenidae ****Family Sierolomorphidae ****Family Tiphiidae ***Superfamily Thynoidea ****Family Chyphotidae ****Family Thynnidae ***Superfamily Vespoidea ****Family Rhopalosomatidae ****Family Vespidae (

potter wasp Potter wasps (or mason wasps), the Eumeninae, are a Cosmopolitan distribution, cosmopolitan wasp group currently considered a subfamily of Vespidae, but sometimes recognized in the past as a separate family, Eumenidae. Mud dauber wasps, which al ...

s, pollen wasps, yellowjackets) ** Proctotrupomorpha ***Superfamily Chalcidoidea ****Family

Agaonidae The family Agaonidae is a group of pollinating fig wasps. They spend their larval stage inside the fruits of Ficus, figs. The pollinating wasps (Agaoninae, Kradibiinae, and Tetrapusiinae) are the mutualism (biology), mutualistic partners of the ...

( fig wasps) ****Family Aphelinidae ****Family Chalcididae ( chalcid wasps) ****Family Encyrtidae ****Family Eucharitidae ****Family Eulophidae ****Family Eupelmidae ****Family Eurytomidae ( seed chalcids) ****Family Leucospidae ****Family Mymaridae ( fairyflies) – the smallest of all insects ****Family Ormyridae ****Family Perilampidae ****Family Pteromalidae ****Family Rotoitidae ****Family Signiphoridae ****Family Tanaostigmatidae ****Family Tetracampidae ****Family Torymidae ****Family Trichogrammatidae ***Superfamily Cynipoidea ****Family Austrocynipidae ****Family Cynipidae ( gall wasps) ****Family Figitidae ****Family Ibaliidae ****Family Liopteridae ***Superfamily Diaprioidea ****Family Austroniidae ****Family

Diapriidae The Diapriidae are a family of parasitoid wasps. These tiny insects have an average length of 2–4 mm and never exceed 8 mm. They typically attack larvae and pupae of a wide range of insects, especially flies. The about 2,300 described ...

****Family

Maamingidae ''Maaminga '' is a genus of parasitic wasps containing two species and constituting the family (biology), family Maamingidae. So far only known from New Zealand, the two named species are ''Maaminga marrisi'' and ''Maaminga rangi, M. rangi''. T ...

****Family

Monomachidae Monomachidae is a family of parasitoid wasps in the order Hymenoptera comprising two genera. The species of the family are found in the Southern Hemisphere, primarily in the tropics of the New World with a few from Australia and New Guinea. D ...

***Superfamily Mymarommatoidea ****Family Mymarommatidae ***Superfamily Platygastroidea **** Family Geoscelionidae **** Family Janzenellidae **** Family Neuroscelionidae **** Family Nixoniidae **** Family

Platygastridae The hymenopteran family Platygastridae (sometimes incorrectly spelled Platygasteridae) is a moderate-sized group (about 2000 described species) of exclusively parasitoid wasps, mostly very small (1–2 mm), black, and shining, with genicul ...

**** Family † Proterosceliopsidae **** Family Scelionidae **** Family Sparasionidae ***Superfamily

Proctotrupoidea Proctotrupoidea is a hymenopteran superfamily containing seven extant families, though others have been recognized in the past, most of these having been removed to a recently erected superfamily Diaprioidea. Of the remaining families, only Proct ...

****Family Heloridae ****Family Pelecinidae ****Family Peradeniidae ****Family Proctorenyxidae ****Family

Proctotrupidae Proctotrupidae is a family of parasitic wasps in the superfamily Proctotrupoidea. There are about 400 species in more than 30 genera in Proctotrupidae, found throughout most of the world. Proctotrupidae are small parasitoid wasps, that primarily ...

****Family Roproniidae ****Family Vanhorniidae **Superfamily Stephanoidea ***Family Stephanidae **Superfamily Trigonaloidea ***Family † Maimetshidae ***Family Trigonalidae **Superfamily Ceraphronoidea ***Family Ceraphronidae ***Family Megaspilidae **Superfamily Evanioidea ***Family Aulacidae ***Family Evaniidae ( ensign wasps) ***Family Gasteruptiidae **Superfamily Ichneumonoidea ***Family

Braconidae The Braconidae are a family of parasitoid wasps. After the closely related Ichneumonidae, braconids make up the second-largest family in the order Hymenoptera, with about 17,000 recognized species and many thousands more undescribed. One analysis ...

***Family

Ichneumonidae 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 ...

( ichneumon wasps) **Superfamily Megalyroidea ***Family Megalyridae

References

External links

Suborder Apocrita – Ants, Bees and Wasps – BugGuide.Net
— images and other information
Tree of Life

Balades Entomologiques
— "entomological walks" with images {{Authority control Insect suborders Taxa named by Carl Eduard Adolph Gerstaecker