Aculeate Hymenoptera

Aculeate roughly translates to 'with a sting'. It includes all the Hymenoptera in which the ovipositor of the females is modified solely as a sting (Betts 1986). In the UK this is a relatively small group (645 species currently on the British List) but contains some of the most well known (both loved and hated) insects in the Country. Of these, perhaps the better-known ones are the social bees, social wasps and ants; all of which are easily recognisable. Bumble bees (humble bees) and the honey bee are well known to everybody, especially the gardener who frequently comes across the large and impressive animals visiting flowers; they have been the focus of many a song, poem and story in English folklore. Ants are also universally known and although they have a reputation for being industrious, people generally take offence if this industry leads to them being found indoors around foodstuffs. Wasps are generally seen in a more jaded perspective as mean and aggressive troublemakers. The popular view on wasps can vary tremendously from outright fear to complete indifference. There are not any other creatures (except perhaps spiders) of this size which can have such an astounding affect on people. They are, however, just as industrious as ants and bees and play a very important role in keeping down the numbers of other insects present in England.

Despite the fact that the social bees and wasps are the most well known of the aculeates, they actually only make up a very small proportion of the overall species numbers of this group. The vast majority of the aculeate hymenoptera are solitary bees and wasps, which are very varied in size and colour. These also include a small number of wingless species such as the velvet ants (actually a group of primitive wasps which attack the young of other wasps species) but the vast majority are winged. Varying degrees of social behaviour can be seen within these species. Many are purely solitary, some nest in aggregations and others share nests and responsibility (this partial social behaviour is termed eusocial). In the UK, the solitary bees and wasps range from the tiny (2-4mm) aphid hunting wasps up to the very large and impressive bee-wolf (Philanthus triangulum), up to 25mm, and the wool carder bee, Anthidium manicatum, which is the size of a bumble bee.

Families of Aculeates in the UK
(listing from BWARS 2001)