Meanings
- not comparableOf or pertaining to wasps formerly classified in the superfamily Sphecoidea (corresponding to all wasps in Apoidea), now sometimes treated as the series Spheciformes.
Bees are similar to one group of wasps, the sphecoid wasps, but are quite unlike other Aculeata.
2000, Charles Duncan Michener, The Bees of the World, volume 1, page 22 more examples
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.
1975, Edward O. Wilson, Sociobiology: The New Synthesis, published 2000, page 428The literature pertaining to sphecoid wasps in Quebec may be divided into four broad categories: species surveys, biological studies, taxonomic studies and reference works.
1982, Albert T. Finnamore, The Sphecoidea of Southern Quebec (Hymenoptera), page 3
Synonyms & antonyms
Synonym sets from Open English WordNet, CC BY 4.0.
Origin
- Ancient Greekσφήξ“wasp”
- translingualSphecidae“taxonomic family of wasps”
- Englishsphecoid
From translingual Sphecidae (“taxonomic family of wasps”), from Ancient Greek σφήξ (sphḗx, “wasp”).
More words from translingual, Ancient Greek
Full word history & related roots →Cite this entry
sphecoid. (n.d.). In WatkinsX Dictionary. Retrieved November 3, 2026, from https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/sphecoid
“sphecoid.” WatkinsX Dictionary, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/sphecoid. Accessed November 3, 2026.
WatkinsX Dictionary, s.v. “sphecoid,” accessed November 3, 2026, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/sphecoid.
Source: sphecoid on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.