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Most hymenopterans are parasitoids, feeding on nectar or other plant material as adults but living as parasites as larvae. Adult females have a special ovipositor for inserting eggs into hosts or places that are otherwise inaccessible. In some species, this ovipositor is often modified into a venomous stinger (thus, only female hymenopterans are capable of stinging). The sting is typically used to immobilize prey, but some wasps (including ants and bees) may use it in defense.

The Cedar Wood Wasp (Syntexis libocedrii) is the only living species in the family Anaxyelidae, though the family has an extensive Mesozoic fossil record, making it a “living fossil”. The Cedar Wood Wasp has the strange behavior of greatly favoring ovipositing in recently burnt incense-cedar (Calocedrus), red cedar (Thuja) or juniper (Juniperus). The wood is often still smoldering while the wasp is laying its eggs, and the larvae develop in the warm, burnt wood. The Cedar Wood Wasp occurs from the mountains of central California to southern British Columbia, but is very rarely seen, except by firefighters.

The parasitoid Tick Wasp (Ixodiphagus hookeri) has been investigated for its potential to control tick populations. It lays its eggs in ticks, and the hatching wasps kill their hosts.

The smallest known insect is Dicopomorpha echmepterygis, a Fairy Wasp from the family Mymaridae. D. echmepterygis males are blind, apterous, and their body length is only 40% that of females, with a body length averaging 186 μm… smaller than certain species of Paramecium, amoeba, and shorter than certain bacteria (Thiomargarita magnifica), all of which are single-celled organisms. The measured body length of a female was 550 μm. D. echmepterygis males have relatively long legs and are dull grayish brown, with small heads that lack compound eyes, and unsegmented antennae. Females, however, have entirely black bodies with dusky brown legs and antennae. The antennae are twice as long as the males, and females have fully-functional wings that are narrowed slightly through the middle. The wasps parasitize the eggs of the bark louse Echmepteryx hageni. Adult males appear to mate with their sisters inside the host egg and die without ever leaving the egg. …follow bestanimal for more Bug Sex Facts.

Little is known about the family Trigonalidae, but what is known indicates a remarkably improbable life history: in nearly all known species, females lay thousands of minute eggs, "clamping" them to the edges of, or injecting them inside leaves. The egg must then be consumed by a caterpillar. Once inside the caterpillar, the trigonalid egg either hatches and attacks any other parasitoid larvae (including its siblings) inside the caterpillar, or it waits until the caterpillar is killed and fed to a vespid larva, which it then attacks and feeds on. If the caterpillar is neither attacked by another parasitoid nor fed to a vespid, the trigonalid larva fails to develop. Therefore, they are parasitoids or hyperparasitoids, but in a manner unique among all insects, in that the eggs must be swallowed by a host, and even more unusual in that there may be an intermediate host.

In the eusocial wasp subfamilies Polistinae and Vespinae, both adults and larvae feed each other. While adults typically feed on nectar and other fluids, they will bring chewed up protein sources, such as insect prey, back to the larvae of the colony. Prey are chewed up and fed to the larvae, which in return, produce a clear liquid (with high amino acid content) for the adults to consume; the exact amino acid composition varies considerably among species, but it is considered to contribute substantially to adult nutrition.

Ants (family Formicidae) are derived eusocial wasps identified by their elbowed antennae and distinctive node-like structure that forms their slender waists. Ants form colonies that range in size from a few dozen individuals often living in small natural cavities, to highly organised colonies that may occupy large territories with a sizeable nest (or nests) that can reach hundreds of millions of individuals in super colonies. Typical colonies consist of various castes of sterile, wingless females, most of which are workers (ergates), as well as soldiers (dinergates) and other specialised groups. Nearly all ant colonies also have some fertile males called "drones" and one or more fertile females called "queens" (gynes). Ant societies have division of labour, communication between individuals, and an ability to solve complex problems. Some ant colonies are peaceful farmers of fungi, hemipterans, and Lycaenid caterpillars, while others are conquering warriors that kill or even enslave other ant colonies.

Trap-jaw Ants of the genus Odontomachus are equipped with mandibles called trap-jaws, which snap shut faster than any other predatory appendages within the animal kingdom. One study of Odontomachus bauri recorded peak speeds of between 126 and 230 km/h (78 and 143 mph), with the jaws closing within 130 microseconds on average. The ants were also observed to use their jaws as a catapult to eject intruders or fling themselves backward to escape a threat.

(suicide cw) A Malaysian species of ant in the Camponotus cylindricus group has enlarged mandibular glands that extend into their gaster. If combat takes a turn for the worse, a worker may perform a final act of suicidal altruism by rupturing the membrane of its gaster, causing the content of its mandibular glands to burst from the anterior region of its head, spraying a poisonous, corrosive secretion containing acetophenones and other chemicals that immobilise surrounding insect attackers. The worker subsequently dies, hopefully taking the surrounding attackers with it. (/suicide cw)

Ants may be the only group apart from mammals where interactive teaching has been observed. A more knowledgeable Rock Ant (Temnothorax albipennis) forager will lead a naïve nest-mate to newly discovered food by the process of tandem running. The follower obtains knowledge through its tutor. The leader is acutely sensitive to the progress of the follower and slows down when the follower lags and speeds up when the follower gets too close.

Leafcutter ants (Atta and Acromyrmex) feed exclusively on a fungus that grows only within their colonies. They continually collect leaves which are taken to the colony, cut into tiny pieces, and placed in fungal gardens. Workers specialise in related tasks according to their sizes. The largest ants cut stalks, smaller workers chew the leaves, and the smallest tend the fungus. Leafcutter ants are sensitive enough to recognise the reaction of the fungus to different plant material, apparently detecting chemical signals from the fungus. If a particular type of leaf is found to be toxic to the fungus, the colony will no longer collect it. The ants feed on structures produced by the fungi called gongylidia. Symbiotic bacteria on the exterior surface of the ants produce antibiotics that kill bacteria introduced into the nest that may harm the fungi.

The Western Honey Bee (Apis mellifera) is the most common of the 7–12 species of honey bees worldwide, and was one of the first domesticated insects, likely first domesticated in ancient Egypt, where tomb paintings depict beekeeping before 2600 BC. It is the primary species maintained by beekeepers to this day, often kept in orchards and on farms both for pollination and for honey collection. Unfortunately, this has also led it to spread far outside its native range and become possibly invasive in some areas, and it often competes with native bees for resources when not kept within the farmlands it was bred to pollinate.

It is estimated that one third of the human food supply depends on pollination by insects, birds and bats, most of which is accomplished by bees, whether wild or domesticated.

There is a common misconception that bees "violate aerodynamic theory" (a misconception quoted quite often thanks to a certain movie). However, the truth is that bees do not engage in fixed-wing flight, but their flight is explained by other mechanics similar to those used by helicopters. In 1996 it was shown that vortices created by many insects' wings helped to provide lift. High-speed cinematography and robotic mock-up of a bee wing showed that lift was generated by "the unconventional combination of short, choppy wing strokes, a rapid rotation of the wing as it flops over and reverses direction, and a very fast wing-beat frequency". Wing-beat frequency normally increases as size decreases, but as the bee's wing beat covers such a small arc, it flaps approximately 230 times per second, faster than a fruitfly (200 times per second) which is 80 times smaller.

Bees and honey were sacred in Ancient Greece. Honey, according to a Greek myth, was discovered by a nymph called Melissa ("Bee"); and honey was offered to the Greek gods from Mycenean times. Bees were also associated with the Delphic oracle and the prophetess was sometimes called a bee.

The Schmidt sting pain index is a pain scale rating the relative pain caused by different hymenopteran stings. It is mainly the work of Justin O. Schmidt, who was an entomologist at the Carl Hayden Bee Research Center in Arizona. Schmidt classified the stings of 78 species and 41 genera of Hymenoptera, rating their level of pain, starting from 0 for stings that are completely ineffective against humans, progressing through 2 for familiar pains such as those caused by common bee or wasp stings, and finishing at 4 for the most painful stings. Only the Bullet Ant (Paraponera clavata), the Pepsine Spider Wasp (Pepsis grossa), and the Northern Warrior Wasp (Synoeca septentrionalis) ever achieved a 4 rating.