Hymenoptera: description, species, main representatives and structure

Insects can be found everywhere - in the urban stone jungle, in the meadow, in the forest, in the tundra, in the desert and even where there is eternal snow and frost. Sometimes we do not notice how beautiful the world around us is. On the globe, live millions of diverse living organisms. In this article, we will discuss in detail what the Hymenoptera insect is. Let's consider all subspecies and their features.

general information

The category of Hymenoptera contains about 300 thousand subspecies of insects. Each of them has two pairs of transparent wings with very large cells. Blades that are in front are usually longer than the back. All Hymenoptera share in the way of life into three types: predators, parasites and insects are herbivores.

Hymenopterous insects include wasps, bees, bumblebees, ants and others. Few people know that they all live in separate collectives, where there is only one major insect. Surprisingly, all duties are distributed evenly. In each collective, a particular insect is responsible for one action. It is believed that it is this category of insects that lives in absolutely all parts of the world.

Types of Hymenoptera insects vary considerably. There are only two varieties - Sidia and cerebellum. The first include more primitive insects that feed on organic matter.

Features of reproduction

The group of insects Hymenoptera is a kind of concept of establishing sex. Termites, for example, which refer to another species, do not have such a feature. In the family of Hymenoptera, as a rule, there is only one uterus. In the first half of her life she does only one marriage flight, storing herself with seminal fluid for the entire period of her life, which is about 10 years.

The collected seminal fluid is used by the female regularly to fertilize the eggs that move along its sexual pathways. It is worth noting that not all eggs carry the process of fertilization. They can also have a single or double set of chromosomes.

The hymenopteran insect has no father. All members of the same family have the same set of chromosomes obtained from the female. Only the uterus has a pair of their number.

Features of the structure

As we said earlier, the Hymenoptera has two pairs of wings. As a rule, the front is longer than the rear ones. On the head of a hymenopterous insect are the antennae. At each subspecies they have the feature of a structure. Their number varies from 2 to 70. On the head are also located eyes, which have a fairly complex structure. Surprisingly, some ants do not see anything at all. They find a way to their anthill thanks to the fragrance of pheromones left behind.

Interesting facts about ants

An ant is a small hymenoptera insect. The number of their species is more than 8 thousand. It is believed that it is the ants that are most similar to man.

Ants never eat what they found. They deliver food to an anthill. Those individuals who do not bring anything, insects kill. Ants regularly store food for the winter. In the afternoon they take her out to the street to dry, and at night they bring back. It is believed that the ants anticipate the weather, as they never dry the preforms before the rain.

Few people know, but the oldest representative of American scientists found on one of the beaches. The body of the ant was located in amber. According to experts, the age of the find is about 130 million years. Surprisingly, ants are the only living organisms, except for the person who grows domestic animals, namely aphids.

It is believed that ants have the largest brain on earth in relation to their bodies. Another interesting fact is the lack of sleep. Surprisingly, the hymenopteran insect of the ant detachment does not feel this need.

Few people know, but working ants live up to 3 years, but females - up to 20. It is also known that they are able to lift a load that exceeds their weight by 100 times. When an ant dies of poisoning, it always falls solely on the right side.

Bumblebees

Bumblebees are also hymenoptera. Representatives of this subspecies are characterized by a dense hair cover on the body, which has a bright color. Bumblebees are divided into three categories: the uterus, workers and drones. It is worth noting that the latter do not have the ability to sting. Unlike wasps, bumblebees use sting only for self-defense.

The reaction of the human body to the bumblebee sting depends only on individual characteristics. Most often it does not pose a danger. An allergic reaction to a bumblebee bite happens rarely. Most often, only 1% of humanity is affected by it, and, as a rule, this happens with a repeated bite.

It is known that unlike other Hymenoptera, bumblebees do not fly out in search of food in bad weather. They also have the most favorite plants. Bumblebees can pollinate hard-to-reach flower bowls that are not subject to wasps.

Unlike other insects, bumblebees have a body temperature higher by 20-30 degrees than the environment. This is explained by the active work of the pectoral muscles.

Is there any benefit from Hymenoptera?

Perhaps, everyone knows that all living organisms on our planet are related. Each insect brings certain benefits to the globe and the man himself. Not an exception and a group of Hymenoptera. For example, ants, as we know, build houses not only on the surface of the ground, but also under it. Due to this, the soil becomes more friable and is filled with more oxygen. Also, ants annually destroy a large number of pests.

Great benefit is brought by the Hymenoptera insects - bees, wasps and hornets. Thanks to the products of their processing, a huge amount of medicines was created. For example, many medications contain honey and propolis.

An interesting fact about the representative of Hymenoptera insects

In the XX century, a famous scientist conducted a number of interesting studies. It is known that the bumblebee has small enough wings (relative to its body). The scientist applied the calculation of the lift to the insect. He found out that the bumblebee was flying contrary to all the laws of aerodynamics and physics.

Today, a lot of disputes are taking place on this topic. Many scientists disprove the hypothesis and prove that the bumblebee is flying reasonably. However, these versions are still not fully understood.

Hymenoptera and formation

As we found out earlier, Hymenoptera insects are of great benefit. The peculiarities of their structure and life activity are told to the pupils of the 7th grade at school. The aim of the lesson is to show how important the group of insects is the Hymenoptera. 7th grade after the end of the lesson must know the features of the structure of this species and their role for the human body and nature. It is the teacher's responsibility to check the mastery of the material about the hymenoptera after some time.

Parasitic properties. Orthopedics

Like many other insects, some subspecies of Hymenoptera have parasitic properties. One of the representatives who have this property is the walnut. Most often they lay their eggs on oak or shrubs. They look like small nuts. The insect lays its eggs directly in the bark or plant leaves. Later, white larvae hatch from them, which disrupt the vital functions of trees and shrubs, parasitizing them.

Ihnevonoids

Another parasitic species of hymenoptera is ichneumonella. Representatives of this subspecies differ in color and size. Female ichnevmonoidov have a distinct filiform ovipositor. They sit on other insects from above and inject their eggs into their bodies.

In some queens, the ovipositor is filled with poison. Thanks to this feature, they destroy pests of agricultural crops. A larva hatches from the egg in the body of another insect. At first, it feeds on the fat deposits of the victim, and when their stock comes to an end, it begins to eat vital organs. By the time when the larva begins to create a cocoon, as a rule, the victim dies.

Chalcids

Chalcids are another parasitic subspecies of Hymenoptera insects. They are quite small in size. Like most other parasitic insects, the chalcids live in the body of other representatives.

Curious is the fact that the chalcids are able to parasitize even in water bodies. It is believed that the most ancient representatives of the parasitic subspecies of Hymenoptera lived in the Cretaceous.

There is a special subset of the Chalcids - Costa Rican. They can parasitize not only animals, but also humans. It is known that a farmer in New England bitten by an insect just behind his ear. The man went for two weeks with unbearable pain and complained of a decrease in hearing. Three weeks after the bite, the farmer's wife discovered that small insects crawled out of his ear. The man was urgently hospitalized. The doctors performed the operation and seized more than 300 grams of chalcids from his auricle.

Among the chalcids there are also species that parasitize only on plants. They perform their life activity within the galls (areas of growth of leaf tissue). Very few people know, but there is a subspecies of Khalcids, whose representatives lay their eggs in ficus fruits, which are just beginning to form. Without these insects, the plant would not have been pollinated. It is also through parasitization that the ficus forms seeds.

Let's sum up the results

Almost every hymenopteran insect strikes us with its quaintness and uniqueness. Each species has its own characteristics. In this article, we showed how incredible are insects. We found out that ants never sleep and, like us, grow pets, and some parasitic Hymenoptera insects can be beneficial. Unfortunately, most often people themselves destroy the world and its inhabitants. We strongly recommend not to damage our nature, so that not only the Hymenoptera, but also other fauna representatives feel comfortable and do not disappear from our land after a couple of years.