Bees, Wasps and Ants

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document in english

biology

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published 20/11/2007

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Summary

By far the most important venomous insects are members of the order Hymenoptera, including bees, wasps, and ants. They vary in size from minute to large (up to 60 mm in body length). The abdomen and thorax are connected by a slender pedicle that may be quite long in certain wasps and ants. Bees and most wasps are winged as adults; ants are wingless, except for sexually mature adults during part of the life cycle. Mouthparts are adapted for chewing but in some species are modified for sucking. The life cycle includes egg, larva, and pupa stages before emergence of adults. Immature stages may be protected and provided with food by the adult. Both animal and plant foods are used. Many species are parasitic on other arthropods. All ants and many species of bees and wasps are social insects. Colonies range in size from a few dozen individuals to many thousands. In cold climates, most individuals die in autumn, leaving the fertilized females to winter over and found new colonies in the spring.

The honeybee (Apis mellifera) is one of the few domesticated insects and is maintained in hives in many countries.
The first escapes from hives occurred in the state of São Paulo in 1957, and the "Brazilian killer bees," or "Africanized bees," have spread widely.
Bumblebees (Bombus and related genera) are a largely holarctic group often found in quite cold environments.
Solitary wasps are predators, feeding largely on other insects and spiders.
Ants are social insects, worldwide in distribution over a wide range of habitats. Many ants sting, and others have repugnant secretions.
Multiple stings often result from disturbance of a nest, as the first insects encountered release alarm pheromones that incite aggressive behavior in other members of the colony.
Intense pain after stings by hornets and other social wasps is largely caused by serotonin and acetylcholine, which constitute 1% to 5% of dry venom weight.
Ant venoms show great variation. Those of more primitive ants (subfamilies Ponerinae, Myrmicinae, and Dorylinae) resemble venoms of social wasps, containing kininlike peptides, enzymes, and unidentified proteins.