Definitions
Century Dictionary and Cyclopedia
- A large and important order of the class Insecta. The order is characterized by the 4 membranous wings, of which the hind pair is almost always smaller than the front pair, and has comparatively few nervures. The mouth bears mandibles, and a lower lip or tongue sheathed by the maxillæ. The tarsi are generally 5-jointed, sometimes 4-jointed, rarely 3-jointed, and very seldom heteromerous. The abdomen of the female is provided with a multivalve ovipositor, which may act as a sting, a saw, or a borer. The larvæ are vermiform and footless, except in Phyllophaga and Xylophaga, in which they are caterpillar-like and have feet. The Hymenoptera are usually placed at the head of the class of insects, not only on account of their high structural development, but also with regard to their extraordinary instinctive faculties and social qualities. In modern systems the order is divided into 8 series and 36 families. The series are: Phyllophaga, the saw-flies; Xylophaga, the horntails; Parasitica, with six families, the species of which are mainly parasitic; Tubulifera, or cuckoo-bees; Heterogyna, the four families of ants; Fossores, eleven families of sand- and wood-wasps; Diploptera, with two families of solitary and one of social wasps; and Anthophila, with the two families of bees. In number of species this order stands next to Coleoptera; it probably includes nearly one fourth of all insects. More than 1,000 genera are represented in Europe alone, and there are over 7,000 described European species. Between 5,000 and 6,000 species have been described for America north of Mexico, and yet the extensive group of Parasitica is little known, especially in its smaller forms.
Wiktionary
- n. A taxonomic order within the superorder Endopterygota — the sawflies, wasps, bees and ants.
GNU Webster's 1913
- n. (Zoöl.) An extensive order of insects, including the bees, ants, ichneumons, sawflies, etc.
WordNet 3.0
- n. an order of insects including: bees; wasps; ants; ichneumons; sawflies; gall wasps; etc.
Etymologies
- From Ancient Greek ὑμενόπτερος (humenopteros, "membrane-winged"), from ὑμήν (humēn, "membrane") + πτερόν (pteron, "wing"). (Wiktionary)
Examples
“He argued that the haplodiploid mechanism of sex determination in Hymenoptera predisposed them to the evolution of cooperation via kin selection.”
“This insect belongs to the order "Hymenoptera," and is of the Ichneumon tribe, being a variety of upward of four hundred species of that interesting fly.”
“The reproductive biology of honeybees and other members of the order Hymenoptera (ants, bees, and wasps) were cited by Hamilton in his theory of kin selection.”
“If you are not allergic to Hymenoptera venom, the danger of the exposure will depend on the number of stings and the areas of the body on which you were stung.”
“Although some calls to the Poison Center are about spiders, ants and caterpillars, this page will focus on stings from the Hymenoptera species.”
“Allergic reactions to Hymenoptera stings may be frightening but they are relative rare; the majority of questions to the Poison Center concerning stings are simply about the proper first aid technique.”
“An allergy to Hymenoptera venom can be one of two types: local or systemic.”
“Ecological dominance by Paratrechina longicornis Hymenoptera: Formicidae, an invasive tramp ant, in Biosphere 2.”
“For example, among the 70,000 or so known parasitoid and other apocritan Hymenoptera, one of the largest orders of insects, all of whom are haplodiploid, no eusocial species has been found.”
“This seemed to be the case with Hymenoptera, an order of insects comprising the sawflies, wasps, bees, and ants, though it did not seem to fit the termites.”
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