Vespoidea

Vespoidea
Dolichovespula maculata, bald-faced hornet
Scientific classification
Kingdom:	Animalia
Phylum:	Arthropoda
Class:	Insecta
Order:	Hymenoptera
Infraorder:	Aculeata
Superfamily:	Vespoidea
Families
See text

See text

Vespoidea is a superfamily of order Hymenoptera of class Insecta, although older taxonomic schemes may vary in this categorization, particularly in their recognition of a now-obsolete superfamily Scolioidea. The members of this group are known as wasps and ants.

Sierolomorphidae

Tiphiidae

Sapygidae

Mutillidae

Pompilidae

Rhopalosomatidae

Formicidae

Vespidae

Scoliidae

Newer research based on four nuclear genes (elongation factor-1α F2 copy, long-wavelength rhodopsin, wingless and the D2–D3 regions of 28S ribosomal RNA—2700 bp in total) suggests the higher-level relationships need to be changed, with Rhopalosomatidae as a sister group of the Vespidae and the clade Rhopalosomatidae + Vespidae as sister to all other vespoids and apoids. Additionally, superfamily Apoidea is found to be within the Vespoidea, suggesting the dismantling of Vespoidea (sensu lato) into many smaller superfamilies; Formicoidea, Scolioidea, Tiphioidea, Thynnoidea, and Pompiloidea in addition to a much more narrowly defined Vespoidea. Finally, families Mutillidae, Tiphiidae, and Bradynobaenidae were found to be paraphyletic. Another recent study confirms the need for revision of high-level relationships, although the pattern of sister-group relationships within the putative Vespoidea matches the same basic pattern as the 2008 study, including a paraphyletic Bradynobaenidae and Tiphiidae.

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