What's the difference between
and
Enter two words to compare and contrast their definitions, origins, and synonyms to better understand how those words are related.

Sphecid vs Sphecoid - What's the difference?

sphecid | sphecoid |

As adjectives the difference between sphecid and sphecoid

is that sphecid is of or pertaining to the Sphecidae family of wasps while sphecoid is of or pertaining to wasps formerly classified in the superfamily Sphecoidea (corresponding to all wasps in Apoidea), now sometimes treated as the series Spheciformes.

As a noun sphecid

is a wasp in the Sphecidae family.

sphecid

English

Adjective

(-)
  • of or pertaining to the Sphecidae family of wasps
  • of or pertaining to those wasps formerly classified in the Sphecidae before the discovery that bees belong to that group (now known as the order Apoidea); the members of the current Apoidea that aren't bees, including other families such as the Crabronidae.
  • Noun

    (en noun)
  • A wasp in the Sphecidae family.
  • sphecoid

    English

    Adjective

    (-)
  • Of or pertaining to wasps formerly classified in the superfamily Sphecoidea (corresponding to all wasps in Apoidea), now sometimes treated as the series Spheciformes.
  • * 1975 , , 2000, page 428,
  • On morphological grounds they fall closest to the sphecoid' wasps, although the lack of an adequate fossil record has made it impossible to pinpoint the exact ancestral phyletic line. In a word, the Apoidea can be loosely characterized as ' sphecoid wasps that have specialized on collecting pollen instead of insect prey as larval food.
  • * 1982 , Albert T. Finnamore, The Sphecoidea of Southern Quebec (Hymenoptera) , page 3,
  • The literature pertaining to sphecoid wasps in Quebec may be divided into four broad categories: species surveys, biological studies, taxonomic studies and reference works.
  • * 2000 , Charles Duncan Michener, The Bees of the World , Volume 1, page 2,
  • Bees are similar to one group of wasps, the sphecoid wasps, but are quite unlike other Aculeata.

    Usage notes

    The term pertains to a classification, Spheciformes or Sphecoidea, that is paraphyletic and represents all members of Apoidea that are not bees. The classification has fallen out of use, but the adjective is still sometimes used, often in the collocation sphecoid wasp . Bees are now thought to have evolved from wasps of a subgroup of Apoidea (and therefore such a grouping of wasps that excludes bees must be paraphyletic).

    See also

    * vespoid