Higher classification Apoidea | Suborder Apocrita Scientific name Crabronidae Rank Family | |
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Lower classifications | ||
Sand wasp crabronidae bembix excavating burrow
The Crabronidae are a large paraphyletic group (nominally a family) of wasps, including nearly all of the species formerly comprising the now-defunct superfamily Sphecoidea. It collectively includes well over 200 genera, containing well over 9000 species. Crabronids were originally a part of Sphecidae, but the latter name is now restricted to a separate family based on what was once the subfamily Sphecinae. As this change is very recent, the subfamilies of Crabronidae likely will each eventually be treated as families in their own right, as they have been treated as such by many authorities in the past (as in the catalog linked below).
Contents
Weevil wasp crabronidae eucerceris on sand
Phylogeny
This cladogram is based on Debevic et al, 2012, which used molecular phylogeny to demonstrate that the bees (Anthophila) arose from deep within the Crabronidae, which is therefore paraphyletic. The Heterogynaidae are also broken up. The small subfamily Mellininae was not included in their analysis.
Subgroups
