Membrane-winged
Guides
Hymenoptera
Ants, Bees, Wasps, and Sawflies
Hymenoptera is one of the largest and most diverse orders of insects, comprising sawflies, wasps, bees, and ants. Over 150,000 living species have been described, with more than 2,000 extinct species known from fossils. The order is characterized by haplodiploid sex determination, where females develop from fertilized diploid eggs and males from unfertilized haploid eggs. Hymenopterans exhibit a wide range of lifestyles from solitary to highly eusocial, and include major pollinators, predators, and parasitoids. Molecular analysis places Hymenoptera as the earliest branching group of Holometabola, with origins in the Triassic period.