Spheciformes

Definition

An obsolete, paraphyletic taxonomic grouping of sphecoid wasps, historically treated as a series or informal assemblage within the superfamily Apoidea (order Hymenoptera). The group encompassed approximately 10,000 species across several hundred genera in families now recognized as phylogenetically scattered among other apoid lineages, including Ampulicidae (cockroach wasps), Crabronidae (sand wasps and allies), Heterogynaidae, and Sphecidae (thread-waisted wasps). Larvae are carnivorous, fed on prey captured and paralyzed by adult females and stored in underground nests. Modern systematics has abandoned Spheciformes in favor of a monophyletic Apoidea that unites spheciform wasps with bees (Anthophila), reflecting molecular evidence that sphecoid-grade morphology evolved multiple times and that bees are nested within traditional "Spheciformes."

Etymology

From Sphex (type genus of Sphecidae, from Greek sphex "wasp") + -iformes (Latin, "having the form of"), thus "wasp-shaped" or "Sphex-like."

Example

The digger wasp Cerceris fumipennis (Crabronidae), formerly classified under Spheciformes, is now placed in a monophyletic Apoidea that also includes honey bees—a rearrangement that illustrates how the obsolete Spheciformes obscured the true evolutionary relationship between predatory wasps and bees.

Synonyms

• Sphecoidea

Related Terms

• Apoidea
• Anthophila
• Sphecidae
• Crabronidae
• Ampulicidae
• paraphyly
• Hymenoptera
• sphecoid wasp
• thread-waisted wasp
• digger wasp

Usage Notes

Spheciformes is now avoided in formal classification; specialists instead refer to "spheciform wasps" or "sphecoid wasps" as an informal morphological grade, not a clade. The term appears frequently in older literature (pre-2010s) and should be interpreted cautiously—species-level identifications remain valid, but phylogenetic conclusions based on Spheciformes assemblage are outdated. Contrast with Apoidea (the monophyletic crown group uniting all bees and spheciform wasps) and Vespoidea (the superfamily containing ants, hornets, and paper wasps, which is sister to Apoidea). The synonym Sphecoidea has also fallen out of use due to similar paraphyly issues.