Wasps make up an enormously diverse array of insects, with some 30,000 identified species. We are most familiar with those that are wrapped in bright warning colors--ones that buzz angrily about in groups and threaten us with painful stings. But most wasps are actually solitary, non-stinging varieties. And all do far more good for humans by controlling pest insect populations than harm.

Despite its name, the tarantula hawk is actually a spider wasp, and its sting is among the most painful of all insects. One researcher described the pain as "immediate, excruciating, unrelenting pain that simply shuts down one's ability to do anything except scream." In terms of scale, the tarantula wasp's sting is rated near the top of the Schmidt sting pain index, second only to that of the bullet ant.

The lifecycle of a wasp depends on the species, but in general a worker wasp's life can last from 12-22 days, while a queen can live up to a year.

Studies of the similarity of the DNA in wasps and bees suggest that the first bees evolved from wasps in the family Crabronidae about 130 million years ago, 50 million years before the first known fossil bee, and probably very shortly after the first flowers evolved in the Cretaceous period.

While bees can attack when provoked, wasps are naturally more aggressive predators. Bees have hairy bodies and legs, while wasps usually have smooth, shiny skin. Wasps can also be distinguished by their narrow "waist", called a petiole, that separates the abdomen from the thorax.

Mexican honey wasps, much like honey bees, are considered beneficial insects. They are nectar gatherers, pollinators, and have been known to feed upon harmful insects such as the Asian citrus psyllid. The honey and larvae of the Mexican honey wasp are documented as a delicacy consumed by the Popolocas people of Los Reyes Metzontla, Mexico.

The largest wasp nest ever recorded was found on a farm at Waimaukau, New Zealand, in April 1963. It was so heavy that it had fallen from the tree in which it had been hanging and split into two. When whole, it measured 12 ft 2 in (3.7 m) long, and was 5.25 ft (1.75 m) in diameter and approximately 18 ft (5.5 m) in circumference. It had probably been constructed by German wasps (Vespula germanica).

Most wasps make their papery nests from some form of plant fiber--usually tree bark. They strip the bark from certain trees, chew it up, add a few enzymes and regurgitate it in a pulp form to create their nests.

Alien is a horror film that depicts an alien lifeform that gestates inside, feeds on, and eventually breaks out of host creatures--just like certain wasps that lay their eggs inside of host insects which they paralyze and leave as food for their young.

Like the cuckoo bird, cuckoo wasps will infiltrate the nests of other wasps and bees, and lay their eggs alongside their hosts' offspring. Once these eggs hatch, the young cuckoo wasps larvae will feed on food stored in the nest for the host's offspring, such as a paralyzed spider or caterpillar. When that food supply dries up, they'll turn on the host's offspring and eat them too.