Pemphredonidae is a family of aphid wasps formerly treated as the subfamily Pemphredoninae. There are 19 genera and 556 described species in the family.[1][2][3]
Description and identification
The primary morphological distinction between the Pemphredondae and the Psenidae is that Pemphredondae never have more than two submarginal cells in their forewing while Psenidae have three submarginal cells.[4]
Biology
The subfamily consists of solitary wasps, each genus having its own distinct and consistent prey preferences. The adult females dig tunnels in the ground, or plant material, for nesting.[5] As with all other apoid wasps, the larvae are carnivorous; females hunt for prey on which to lay their eggs, mass provisioning the nest cells with paralyzed, living prey that the larvae feed upon after hatching from the egg.[citation needed]
Taxonomy and phylogeny
As Pemphredoninae, this taxon was previously divided into four tribes: Entomosericini, Odontosphecini, Psenini, and Pemphredonini. The Pemphredonini were considered to have by far the largest number of species. Phylogenetic analyses to resolve the paraphyly of Crabronidae through erecting additional families also found the Pemphredoninae to be polyphyletic. As a result, more recent classifications treat Psenidae (comprising the former tribes Psenini and Odontosphecini) as a separate family, and sister to the newly-erected family Ammoplanidae. Ammoplanidae is also rendered as the most sister family to the bees (Anthophila). The Pemphredonidae (Pemphredonini excluding Ammoplanina) is instead sister taxon to the Philanthidae.[2] In continued revision, Entomosericini has also been elevated to family status as Entomosericidae.[3]
Genera
The Pemphredonidae are restricted to the former subtribes Pemphredonina, Spilomenina, and Stigmina.[2][3]
Two fossil wasp genera from the Weald Clay were originally considered to possibly be in the Pemphredoninae.[6] They are currently classified among the 15 genera of the extinct family, Angarosphecidae.[7]
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Sann, Manuela; Meusemann, Karen; Niehuis, Oliver; Escalona, Hermes E.; Mokrousov, Mikhail; Ohl, Michael; Pauli, Thomas; Schmid-Egger, Christian (2021). "Reanalysis of the apoid wasp phylogeny with additional taxa and sequence data confirms the placement of Ammoplanidae as sister to bees". Systematic Entomology. 46 (3): 558–569. doi:10.1111/syen.12475.
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Sharp, David (1901) "Insects Part II: Chapter III: Hymenoptera Aculeata continued: Family Sphegidae-Crabronides: Sub-Fam. 9. Mimesides." in Harmer, S. F. and Shipley, A. E. (eds.) (1901) The Cambridge Natural History Macmillan and Co., London, p. 128OCLC559687
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Jarzembowski, E.A. (1991). "New insects from the Weald Clay of the Weald". Proceedings of the Geologists' Association. 102 (2): 93–108. doi:10.1016/S0016-7878(08)80069-7.
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Zheng, Yan; Chen, Jun; Zhang, Haichun; Rasnitsyn, Alexandr P. (2021). "New angarosphecid wasp (Hymenoptera: Apoidea, Angarosphecidae) from the mid-Cretaceous Burmese amber". Cretaceous Research. 121. doi:10.1016/j.cretres.2020.104742.
Further reading
Simon-Thomas, R. T. and Bohart, R. M. (1998) A recapitulation of errata and omissions to Sphecid wasps of the world, a generic revision, by R.M. Bohart & A.S. Menke Instituut voor Systematiek en Populatiebiologie, University of Amsterdam, Amsterdam, OCLC39684725
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