Bees, Wasps and Ants - (Hymenoptera) - Group

Bees, Wasps and Ants - Hymenoptera

Group Description

There are 276 species of bee that have ever been recorded in the UK.

There are around 9000 species of wasp in the UK (8055 according to NBN) of which 250 are large and have stings. Out of this only 9 are social wasps living in colonies. Wasps are an extremely important part of the food web. In fact without them we could not live. They are major pest controllers, specifically selecting/keeping down the most abundant pests at anyone time and area making sure there is a balance and hierarchy. Secondly they are major pollinators. With more wasps than bees in the UK they are the number one pollinator of our crops. And with the decline of bees, wasps which are more stable are becoming ever more important as a back up in areas where bee numbers have almost vanished.

There are 50 species of Ant in the UK.

SubGroups

name	latinname	species	sightings	media
Ants	Formicidae	5	18	63
Apidae	Apidae	3	14	76
Bumblebees	Bombus	9	59	344
Chalcid Wasps	Chalcidoidea	5	5	38
Digger Wasps, Hunting Wasps	Crabronidae	18	43	291
Ensign and Pennant Parasitoid Wasps	Evanioidea	2	4	41
Gall wasps	Cynipoidea	7	11	26
Ichneumonidea	Ichneumonidea	49	128	843
Leafcutter Bees	Megachile	4	21	111
Lesser Mason-bees	Hoplitis	1	2	11
Mason / Potter Wasps	Eumeninae	2	4	45
Mason Bees	Osmia	6	53	200
Mini Mining Bees	Micrandrena	3	3	10
Mining Bees	Andrena	15	74	354
Nomad Bees	Nomada	6	12	74
Plasterer Bees	Colletidae	5	25	104
Platygastroid Parasitic Wasps	Platygastroidea	2	2	15
Ruby-tailed Wasps	Chrysididae	2	7	43
Shaggy Bees	Panurgus	1	3	7
Small Carpenter-bees	Ceratina	1	2	6
Social wasps	Vespids	4	7	29
Solitary wasps	Anoplius	1	7	35
Spider Hunting Wasps	Pompilidae	4	12	31
Sweat Bees	Halictidae	8	45	301
Wool Carder Bees	Anthidium	1	3	25

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