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A wasp is any insect of the order Hymenoptera and suborder Apocrita that is not a bee or ant. The suborder Symphyta includes the sawflies and wood wasps, which differ from members of Apocrita by having a broader connection between the thorax and abdomen known as the petiole. In addition to this, Symphyta larvae are mostly herbivorous and "caterpillarlike", whereas those of Apocrita are largely predatory or "parasitic" (technically known as parasitoid).

The most familiar wasps belong to Aculeata, a division of Apocrita, whose ovipositors are adapted into a venomous stinger. Aculeata also contains ants and bees. In this respect, insects called "velvet ants" (the family Mutillidae) are technically wasps.

A narrower but popular definition of the term wasp is any member of the Aculeate family Vespidae, which includes the well known black (or brown in the case of the hornet) and yellow striped yellowjackets (Vespula, Dolichovespula spp.) and hornets (Vespa spp.).

The various species of wasp fall into one of two main categories. These are solitary wasps and social wasps. Solitary wasps generally live and operate alone, building their own nest and mating via mating flights. By contrast, social wasps exist in colonies numbering up to several thousand strong, they build a communal nest and do not make mating flights. Not all types of social wasp mate, generally just the queen and male drones can mate, whilst the majority of the colonies are made up of sterile female workers.