An interactive identification guide to the Australasian families of Hymenoptera
N.B. Stevens, C.J. Stephens, Muhammad Iqbal, J.T. Jennings, J. LaSalle & A.D. Austin

About the product
The Hymenoptera (ants, bees, sawflies and wasps) are one of the ‘mega-diverse’ insect orders. Species occur ubiquitously from forests and woodlands to grasslands and wetlands, freshwater and intertidal zones to urban parks and gardens. Arguably, no other insect group plays such key roles in the functioning of ecosystems. Wasps regulate insect populations though predation and parasitism, bees are among the most important pollinators of flowering plants, and ants dominate many terrestrial landscapes where they are involved with vital ecological processes such as predation, seed dispersal and soil health.
What wasp is that? contains a Lucid key to the 67 families of Australasian Hymenoptera and comprehensive information on the biology, morphology, and classification of the group.
The numerical and ecological diversity of Hymenoptera make them an ideal study organism. As such, What wasp is that? will be a valuable tool for students, researchers, biological control practitioners, those involved in ecological surveys and monitoring, or simply anyone with an interest in a unique and important, yet often unnoticed, component of our native biodiversity.

Product features
The major component of this interactive guide, the Lucid key, provides the means to easily identify the 67 families of Hymenoptera that occur across Australasia. The key contains over 250 full-colour, clearly annotated illustrations, using simple terminology, of features which can be seen using good light microscopy. In contrast to traditional paper-based keys, a combination of line drawings, scanning electron micrographs and colour photographs have been used to best illustrate each character.

In addition to the Lucid key, What wasp is that? contains hundreds of colour photographs and comprehensive information, including external hyperlinks, on:

• the morphology of the Hymenoptera, including annotated drawings of the morphological terms used throughout the guide and Lucid key;
• the families, including images, biologies and defining characters;
• the diverse biology and ecology of the group, including parasitism, eusociality, herbivory, pollination, biological control, invasive species and environmental monitoring and conservation;
• the systematics of the Hymenoptera, with current classification, phylogeny and number of described species of Australian and New Zealand Hymenoptera, including introduced taxa;
• a range of collecting techniques for taxonomic purposes and ecological studies; and
• a comprehensive bibliography of published literature.

For more information please click here.

Price: $59.00 (excluding GST)

Produced and published by

The Centre for Biological Information Technology

&

Australian Biological Resources Study