Family Vespidae

The Vespidae (Hymenoptera) is a cosmopolitan, diverse and large family of wasps including about 5000 species worldwide (Aguiar et al. 2013). These wasps are social, eusocial and solitary. Vespidae is further divided into six subfamilies Eumeninae, Euparagiinae, Polistinae, Stenogastrinae, Masarinae and Vespinae (Carpenter 1982, Pickett & Carpenter 2010). Adults are predominantly reddish, brownish or black with dense white or yellow markings. The majority of the species are solitary, but various are social. The immatures are usually predators on other insects.