Hymenoptera, the order that includes ants, bees, sawflies, and wasps is one of the
most diverse groups of animals. The largest family, Ichneumonidae, includes more
species than those of all birds and mammals combined, but it is only one among a
number of large families in the order. Hymenoptera are valuable to both man and
the environment. Bees, especially, are well known for pollinating agricultural
crops and other plants. Even the relatively few kinds of wasps that are apt to
sting man when their nests are disturbed are usually predaceous on plant-feeding
insects and are decidedly beneficial. Perhaps most beneficial of all are the
myriad natural enemies of insects found among the non-social wasps and,
especially, the parasitoid wasps.
