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wasp

wasp

The Columbia Encyclopedia, 6th ed. | 2008 | Copyright

wasp name applied to many winged insects of the order Hymenoptera, which also includes ants and bees. Most wasps are carnivorous, feeding on insects, grubs, or spiders. They have biting mouthparts, and the females have stings with which they paralyze their prey. The sting can be used repeatedly. The thorax of a wasp is attached to the abdomen by a narrow stalk (hence the term "wasp-waisted" ). Some wasps are solid black or dark blue, but most have red, orange, or yellow wings or markings. Stripes are common. The great majority of the 20,000 species are solitary, but one family (the Vespidae) includes both social forms (the paper wasps, hornets, and yellow jackets) and solitary forms (e.g., the potter wasps).

Social Wasps

In social wasp colonies there are usually three castes: the egg-laying queens (one or more per colony), the workers, or sexually undeveloped females, and the drones, or males. Social wasps build nests of a coarse, papery material, prepared by masticating wood fiber. The eggs are deposited in the compartments, or cells, of the nest, where they develop into larvae and then pupae, emerging as adults. Adult social wasps feed chiefly on nectar and plant sap but feed the larvae with masticated animal food. In temperate regions a colony lasts a single season, the drones and workers dying in the fall. The mated queens take shelter during the winter and in spring lay eggs and start new colonies. In the tropics colonies continue indefinitely, dividing when they grow very large. The paper wasps ( Polistes ), of nearly worldwide distribution, usually hang their nests, consisting of a single comb (layer of cells), from eaves, branches, or other shelters. The hornets and yellow jackets ( Vespa ), found throughout the Northern Hemisphere, build a large, round nest of many combs, covered with a paper sheath; in some species this nest is built underground.

Solitary Wasps

Among the solitary wasps, each species usually favors a particular type of prey. The female seals a single egg in a nest provided with paralyzed prey on which the developing larva feeds. In many species the nest is in a burrow or small hole dug by the female. The jug-shaped nests of the potter, or mason, wasps ( Eumenes ) of Europe and North America are made of mud and fastened to plants. Often seen under bridges and eaves are the "organ-pipe" nests of the mud-dauber wasps ( Sceliphron ), consisting of long, narrow, adjacent cells of mud. Other solitary wasps are the tarantula hawks ( Pepsis ) and cicada killers ( Sphecus ) of the SW United States, which hunt prey much larger than themselves.

Parasitic Wasps

Some wasps are parasitic. The cuckoo wasps (family Chrysididae), of worldwide distribution, are brilliantly colored wasps that lay their eggs in other wasps' nests. The ichneumon flies are wasps that lay their eggs in the larvae of other insects. The gall wasps (see gall ) lay eggs in plant tissues. Wasps that prey on harmful insects have been introduced in various regions to control these pests.

Classification

The name wasp is sometimes restricted to the so-called true wasps, members of the superfamilies Vespoidae and Sphecoidae. Wasps are classified in the phylum Arthropoda , class Insecta, order Hymenoptera.

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WASP

The Oxford Essential Dictionary of the U.S. Military | 2001 | Copyright

WASP a member of the Women's Airforce Service Pilots, formed in World War II mainly owing to a shortage of suitable male pilots. About 1,000 in number, they undertook various air duties, particularly ferrying aircraft, starting in 1943. They were disbanded in 1944, shortly after the D-Day landing. Just under forty died in training or in service. Though they were never officially militarized, they were the first women in history trained to fly U.S. military aircraft.
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wasp

The Oxford Pocket Dictionary of Current English | 2009 | Copyright

wasp / wäsp/ • n. 1. a social winged insect (Vespula, Polistes, and other genera, family Vespidae) that has a narrow waist and a sting. It constructs a paper nest from wood pulp and raises the larvae on a diet of insects. See illustrations at paper wasp, mud dauber. 2. a solitary winged insect (several superfamilies) with a narrow waist, mostly distantly related to the social wasps and including many parasitic kinds.

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WASP

The Oxford Companion to World War II | 2001 | | Copyright

WASP, Women Airforce Service Pilots, a US civilian organization formed in August 1943 from the Women's Auxiliary Ferrying Squadron and the Women's Flying Training detachment. Its pilots were used by Air Transport Command for ferrying tasks but principally for operational duties with Training Command. It was run by the well-known aviator Jacqueline Cochran, and more than 1,000 women completed the training.
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I. C. B. DEAR and M. R. D. FOOT. "WASP." The Oxford Companion to World War II. 2001. Encyclopedia.com. 10 Feb. 2012 <http://www.encyclopedia.com>.

I. C. B. DEAR and M. R. D. FOOT. "WASP." The Oxford Companion to World War II. 2001. Encyclopedia.com. (February 10, 2012). http://www.encyclopedia.com/doc/1O129-WASP.html

I. C. B. DEAR and M. R. D. FOOT. "WASP." The Oxford Companion to World War II. 2001. Retrieved February 10, 2012 from Encyclopedia.com: http://www.encyclopedia.com/doc/1O129-WASP.html

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wasp

The Concise Oxford Dictionary of English Etymology | 1996 | | Copyright

wasp OE. wæsp, wæps, wæfs, corr. to OS. wepsia, wespa, wasp, OHG. wafsa, wefsa (G. wespe), MLG. wepse, wespe, wispe :- WGmc. *wab̄is-, *waps- :- IE. *wobhes-, *wops-, whence OSl. (Russ.) osa, Lith. vapsvà, OBret. guohi, Corn. guhien, L. vespa (:- *wopsā), usu. taken to be f. *webh- wobh- WEAVE1, with ref. to the weblike construction of the insect's nest.
Hence waspish XVI.
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T. F. HOAD. "wasp." The Concise Oxford Dictionary of English Etymology. 1996. Encyclopedia.com. 10 Feb. 2012 <http://www.encyclopedia.com>.

T. F. HOAD. "wasp." The Concise Oxford Dictionary of English Etymology. 1996. Encyclopedia.com. (February 10, 2012). http://www.encyclopedia.com/doc/1O27-wasp.html

T. F. HOAD. "wasp." The Concise Oxford Dictionary of English Etymology. 1996. Retrieved February 10, 2012 from Encyclopedia.com: http://www.encyclopedia.com/doc/1O27-wasp.html

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Wasp

The Oxford Pocket Dictionary of Current English | 2009 | Copyright

Wasp / wäsp/ (also WASP) • n. an upper- or middle-class American white Protestant, considered to be a member of the most powerful group in society. DERIVATIVES: Wasp·ish adj.Wasp·y adj. ORIGIN: 1950s: acronym from white Anglo-Saxon Protestant.

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wasp

World Encyclopedia | 2005 | Copyright

wasp Any insect of the stinging Hymenoptera that is neither a bee nor an ant. The common wasp (Vespa vulgaris) has a yellow body ringed with black. Adults feed on nectar, tree sap, and fruit. Length: to 3cm (1.2in). Family Vespidae.
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Wasp

The Oxford Dictionary of Phrase and Fable | 2006 | | Copyright

Wasp an upper- or middle-class American white Protestant, considered to be a member of the most powerful group in society. The word is an acronym from white Anglo-Saxon Protestant.
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ELIZABETH KNOWLES. "Wasp." The Oxford Dictionary of Phrase and Fable. 2006. Encyclopedia.com. 10 Feb. 2012 <http://www.encyclopedia.com>.

ELIZABETH KNOWLES. "Wasp." The Oxford Dictionary of Phrase and Fable. 2006. Encyclopedia.com. (February 10, 2012). http://www.encyclopedia.com/doc/1O214-Wasp.html

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wasp

Oxford Dictionary of Rhymes | 2007 | Copyright

wasp •asp •clasp, gasp, grasp, hasp, rasp •crisp, lisp, will-o'-the-wisp, wisp •wasp • woodwasp • cusp

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WASP

The Oxford Dictionary of Abbreviations | 1998 | | Copyright

WASP (wɒsp) (or Wasp) (USA) white Anglo-Saxon Protestant
• (USA) Women Airforce Service Pilots
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FRAN ALEXANDER , PETER BLAIR , JOHN DAINTITH , ALICE GRANDISON , VALERIE ILLINGWORTH , ELIZABETH MARTIN , ANNE STIBBS , JUDY PEARSALL , and SARA TULLOCH. "WASP." The Oxford Dictionary of Abbreviations. 1998. Encyclopedia.com. 10 Feb. 2012 <http://www.encyclopedia.com>.

FRAN ALEXANDER , PETER BLAIR , JOHN DAINTITH , ALICE GRANDISON , VALERIE ILLINGWORTH , ELIZABETH MARTIN , ANNE STIBBS , JUDY PEARSALL , and SARA TULLOCH. "WASP." The Oxford Dictionary of Abbreviations. 1998. Encyclopedia.com. (February 10, 2012). http://www.encyclopedia.com/doc/1O25-WASP.html

FRAN ALEXANDER , PETER BLAIR , JOHN DAINTITH , ALICE GRANDISON , VALERIE ILLINGWORTH , ELIZABETH MARTIN , ANNE STIBBS , JUDY PEARSALL , and SARA TULLOCH. "WASP." The Oxford Dictionary of Abbreviations. 1998. Retrieved February 10, 2012 from Encyclopedia.com: http://www.encyclopedia.com/doc/1O25-WASP.html

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Free newspaper and magazine articles

FOREIGN WASPS GIVE ASH TREES NEW HOPE Stingless wasps are newest weapon...
Newspaper article from: Star Tribune (Minneapolis, MN); 6/29/2010
Wasps are there for the taking by Blues, insists Wales' Gatland.(Sport)
Newspaper article from: Western Mail (Cardiff, Wales); 5/1/2010
WASP YOUR PROBLEM? Their stings are venomous machine guns, they love to get...
Newspaper article from: Daily Mail (London); 8/26/2009

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wasp. (Image by Richard Bartz, CC)

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