Tiphiidae

TiphiidaePentazeleboria janeta Tiphiid Flower Wasp (family Tiphiidae)

The Tiphiid Flower Wasps and Allies, belong to the superfamily Tiphioidea. This superfamily is commonly grouped under the label of “stinging wasps”, giving them an unfair common name as insects that will sting for no reason. Like many insects, they may only sting if they perceive you as a danger. Many species will often fly away, to avoid confrontation. All wasps belong to the order Hymenoptera.

With the family Tiphiidae, subfamily Tiphiinae (as recognised in Atlas of Living Australia), the Thynnid Flower Wasps family Thynnidae (at the time of writing) is not recognised with that term in Atlas of Living Australia (it is known as family Tiphiidae), although iNaturalistAU does recognised it. Perhaps to confuse things further, in iNaturalistAU, the Thynnid Flower Wasps is described in the family Thynnidae.

• Tiphiid Flower Wasps and Allies Superfamily Tiphioidea
• Tiphiid Flower Wasps Family Tiphiidae
• Subfamily Tiphiinae
  (Atlas of Living Australia)

• Tiphiid Flower Wasps Family Tiphiidae
• Subfamily Brachycistidinae
• Subfamily Tiphiinae
  (Atlas of Living Australia)

• Superfamily Vespoidea
• Family Tiphiidae
• Subfamily Tiphiinae
• Genus Tiphia
• Species Tiphia intrudens
  (Atlas of Living Australia)

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• Tiphiid Flower Wasps and Allies Superfamily Tiphioidea
• Thynnid Flower Wasps Family Thynnidae
• Subfamily Anthoboscinae
• Subfamily Diamminae
• Subfamily Methochinae
• Subfamily Myzininae
• Subfamily Thynninae
  (iNaturalistAU)

Thynninae

Australian flower wasps belong to the subfamily Thynninae. Until recently, Thynninae was a subfamily of Tiphiidae. Thynninae has now been moved into a new family, Thynnidae. There is still a family called Tiphiidae, but it now includes only one Australian species.³

Thynnid Wasps, from the family Tiphiidae, subfamily Thynninae, are often referred to as Thynnidae (Smooth Flower Wasp), that currently list 44 recognised species), and not to be confused with the subfamily Tiphiinae, who currently only have the one genus Tiphia and one species Tiphia intrudens (ref Atlas of Living Australia).

The family Tiphiidae, collectively known as Tiphiid Wasps, Flower Wasps, or Tiphiid Flower Wasps are a group of large, solitary wasps, whose larvae are parasitoids of various beetle larvae.

Some of the female wasps of subfamilies (all Diamminae, Methochinae, and Thynninae) are wingless, and search for ground-dwelling beetle larvae, or (in one species) mole crickets, as the prey to feed their larvae. The larvae are almost universally parasitoids of various beetle larvae, especially those beetles in the superfamily Scarabaeoidea.

Members of the Thynninae are often called ‘flower wasps’ because the males are commonly seen feeding at flowers, sometimes with the smaller wingless females attached to their posterior abdomen in copulation. They are also known to feed the females nectar from the flower. Certain species of males are also important in orchid pollination, these males being attracted to flowers that mimic wasp sex pheromones.

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Check out some of our listed Hairy Flower Wasps:

• Blue Hairy Flower Wasp (genus Austroscolia)
• Flower Wasps (family Tiphiidae, subfamily Thynninae)
• Yellow Hairy Flower Wasp (Radumeris radula)
• Yellow Hairy Flower Wasp (Radumeris tasmaniensis) 

and our blog My yellow hairy bug…

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This section is a work in progress…

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• Scientific classification
• Kingdom: Animalia
• Phylum: Arthropoda
• Subphylum: Hexapoda
• Class: Insecta
• Informal: Pterygotes
• Order: Hymenoptera
• Superfamily: Vespoidea
• Family: Tiphiidae
• Subfamily:
  • Anthoboscinae
  • Diamminae
  • Methochinae
  • Myzininae
  • Thynninae

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TiphiidaePentazeleboria janeta Tiphiid Flower Wasp (family Tiphiidae)

WaspsWasps Index Australian Large Wasps Australian Mud Nest Wasps Mud Wasp Velvet Ants Abispa ephippium Acarozumia amaliae Aulacidae Australodynerus Bembix Bembicinae Blue Hairy Flower Wasp Braconidae Chrysididae Cryptocheilus bicolor (Orange Spider Wasp) Delta latreillei (Potter Wasp) Eumeninae Ferreola handschini (Orange-collared Spider Wasp) Flower Wasps Gasteruptiid Wasp Hairy Flower Wasps Isodontia (Grass-carrying Wasp) Lissopimpla excelsa (Orchid Dupe Wasp) Mutillidae Paralastor sp. Pseudabispa bicolor ssp. nigrocinctoides Radumeris radula (Yellow Hairy Flower Wasp) Radumeris tasmaniensis (Yellow Hairy Flower Wasp) Sceliphron laetum Thynnid Wasps Tiphiidae Yellow and Black Wasp

InsectsBees Beetles Blattodea Butterflies Coleoptera Cicada Crabronidae Diptera Dragonflies & Damselflies Formicidae Hemiptera Heteroptera (True Bugs) Mango Planthopper Moths Orthoptera Orthopteroid Processionary Caterpillar Stink Bugs, Shield Bugs and Allies Syrphidae Wasps Water Scorpion (Laccotrephes tristis) Witchetty Grub