Species group · Insects
Wasps
WAnimals has 9 species of wasp, spread across 8 families (Agaonidae, Ampulicidae, Braconidae, Cynipidae, Ichneumonidae, Pompilidae, Sphecidae, Vespidae).
- 9 species
- 8 families
- 95 countries
- 300 parks
- Length
- 2 cm – 25 cm
- Lifespan
- 1 years
Ranges calculated from the entries that record the figure, not from all 9.
All 9 species of wasps on WAnimals
Each one has its own full entry. This group does not replace them: it brings them together.
Sabre Wasp
Rhyssa persuasoria
Tarantula Hawk Wasp
Pepsis grossa
German Wasp
Vespula germanica
Agaonid Wasp
Blastophaga psenes
Great Black Digger Wasp
Sphex pensylvanicus
Emerald Cockroach Wasp
Ampulex compressa
Parasitoid Wasp
Cotesia glomerata
Asian Hornet
Vespa velutina
Marble Gall
Andricus kollari
Conservation status
No species documented in this group is genuinely at risk according to the IUCN, with the data available today.
See the global conservation statusWhere they live
Recorded in 95 countries. The ones with the most species in the group:
Where to see them
Did you know…
It locates its victim through several centimetres of solid wood, detecting with its antennae the vibrations it makes as it gnaws and the smell of the fungi that go with it.
From Sabre Wasp
Its ovipositor, finer than a hair, drills through the wood for almost half an hour until it reaches the larva and lays an egg on it.
From Sabre Wasp
It has been deliberately introduced into New Zealand and Australia to control woodwasp pests in pine plantations.
From Sabre Wasp
Its sting occupies the top level of the Schmidt pain scale: it is described as a blinding electric shock lasting some three minutes, and the entomologists' practical advice is simply to lie down and scream.
From Tarantula Hawk Wasp
Even so it is not aggressive and almost never stings people unless handled.
From Tarantula Hawk Wasp
It is the official state insect of New Mexico, chosen by a vote of schoolchildren in 1989.
From Tarantula Hawk Wasp
It lives in annual colonies that die out almost entirely over winter; only the newly mated queens survive to found fresh colonies in spring.
From German Wasp
It builds its nest by chewing wood and mixing it with saliva: it is genuine paper, and the technique is often cited as the natural forerunner of human papermaking.
From German Wasp