Q 01/05

Wasps belong to which insect order, shared with bees and ants, whose name means membrane-winged?

A) Diptera

B) Hymenoptera

C) Hemiptera

D) Coleoptera

Answer · why

B) Hymenoptera

A wasp is defined as any narrow-waisted member of the suborder Apocrita that is neither a bee nor an ant.

Q 02/05

Why do wasps not form a natural group (clade)?

A) They have no common ancestor at all

B) Sawflies are included in the group

C) Bees and ants evolved from wasp ancestors

D) Hornets are technically flies

Answer · why

C) Bees and ants evolved from wasp ancestors

Bees and ants sit deep inside the wasp family tree, so 'wasp' is what is left over once you remove them.

Q 03/05

Which wasps can sting?

A) Every species of wasp

B) Only the social wasps

C) Members of the clade Aculeata

D) Only the adult males

Answer · why

C) Members of the clade Aculeata

In these wasps the egg-laying tube became a sting; most wasp species are parasitoids that lay eggs with it instead.

Q 04/05

How do most wasp species live?

A) Solitary

B) In colonies

C) Roughly half and half

D) In colonies in the tropics only

Answer · why

A) Solitary

Only the family Vespidae contains social species; the vast majority of females forage and breed independently.

Q 05/05

A wasp's stinger is a modified version of what organ?

A) The mandible

B) A hind leg

C) The proboscis

D) The ovipositor

Answer · why

D) The ovipositor

That is why only females sting; males never had an egg-laying tube to modify.