Aculeata

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Aculeata
Temporal range: Late Jurassic–Recent
File:Vespula vulgaris I.jpg
Vespula vulgaris
Scientific classification Edit this classification
Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Arthropoda
Class: Insecta
Order: Hymenoptera
Suborder: Apocrita
Infraorder: Aculeata
(but see text)
Superfamilies

Aculeata is an infraorder of Hymenoptera containing ants, bees, and stinging wasps. The name is a reference to the defining feature of the group, which is the modification of the ovipositor into a stinger. However, many members of the group cannot sting, either retaining the ovipositor, or having lost it altogether. A large part of the clade is parasitic.

This group includes all of the eusocial Hymenopterans.

The oldest aculeates are known from the Late Jurassic Karabastau Formation of Kazakhstan, represented by the family Bethylonymidae, which may be para- or polyphyletic.[1]

Classification

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The use of the name Aculeata has a long history at the rank of infraorder or division. The Aculeata are a monophyletic, or good natural group, containing all the descendants of a single common ancestor. The Aculeata are therefore maintained as a taxon, either at infraorder or division rank or as an unranked clade.[2][3][4][5][6]

Hymenoptera

References

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