Aculeata

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Aculeata (wasps, ants, bees; class Hymenoptera, suborder Apocrita) Division of Hymenoptera in which the ovipositor has lost its egg-laying function and is modified as a sting. The sting has been lost in some aculeates (e.g. formicine ants) and is reduced or absent in some bees (e.g. the Andrenidae and Meliponini). Compare PARASITICA.

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