Parasitic wasp larvae emerging from a live caterpillar
It is one of those vague English words, like ‘bug’ or ‘midge’. The term ‘wasp’ emerged long before any modern knowledge of either evolution or classification was developed.
Almost all the vast insect order Hymenoptera (over 150 000 species worldwide) could rightfully be called wasps. Many are – gall wasps, parasitic wasps, potter wasps, digger wasps, dagger wasps, mud-dauber wasps, sand wasps, mason wasps, rubytail wasps, fig wasps, paper wasps, spider wasps, sabre wasps (see Figure 1).
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