A tie pin (or tiepin , also known as a stick pin / stickpin ) is a neckwear -controlling device, originally worn by wealthy English gentlemen to secure the folds of their cravats .
111-414: Tie pins were first popularized at the beginning of the 19th century. Cravats were made of silk , satin , lace and lightly starched cambric , lawn cloth , and muslin . Stickpins were necessary accoutrements to keep these expensive fabrics in place and safe. They commonly used pearls and other precious gemstones set in gold or other precious metals and were designed specifically for their owners. By
222-401: A bave . Bave diameters for tussah silk can reach 65 μm. See cited reference for cross-sectional SEM photographs. Silk has a smooth, soft texture that is not slippery, unlike many synthetic fibers . Silk is one of the strongest natural fibers, but it loses up to 20% of its strength when wet. It has a good moisture regain of 11%. Its elasticity is moderate to poor: if elongated even
333-629: A body length of only 0.139 mm (0.0055 in), and the smallest known flying insect, only 0.15 mm (0.0059 in) long. Wasps have appeared in literature from Classical times , as the eponymous chorus of old men in Aristophanes ' 422 BC comedy The Wasps , and in science fiction from H. G. Wells 's 1904 novel The Food of the Gods and How It Came to Earth , featuring giant wasps with three-inch-long stings. The name 'Wasp' has been used for many warships and other military equipment. The wasps are
444-510: A body length of only 158 micrometres, the smallest known flying insect. There are estimated to be 100,000 species of ichneumonoid wasps in the families Braconidae and Ichneumonidae . These are almost exclusively parasitoids, mostly using other insects as hosts. Another family, the Pompilidae , is a specialist parasitoid of spiders. Some wasps are even parasitoids of parasitoids; the eggs of Euceros are laid beside lepidopteran larvae and
555-547: A cosmopolitan paraphyletic grouping of hundreds of thousands of species, consisting of the narrow-waisted clade Apocrita without the ants and bees . The Hymenoptera also contain the somewhat wasplike but unwaisted Symphyta , the sawflies. The term wasp is sometimes used more narrowly for members of the Vespidae , which includes several eusocial wasp lineages, such as yellowjackets (the genera Vespula and Dolichovespula ), hornets (genus Vespa ), and members of
666-401: A crop inside their bodies, rather than on body hairs like bees, and pollinate flowers of Penstemon and the water leaf family, Hydrophyllaceae . The Agaonidae ( fig wasps ) are the only pollinators of nearly 1000 species of figs , and thus are crucial to the survival of their host plants. Since the wasps are equally dependent on their fig trees for survival, the coevolved relationship
777-406: A danger as the wasps may sting if people come close to them. Stings are usually painful rather than dangerous, but in rare cases, people may suffer life-threatening anaphylactic shock . Some species of parasitic wasp, especially in groups such as Aphelinidae , Braconidae , Mymaridae , and Trichogrammatidae , are exploited commercially to provide biological control of insect pests . One of
888-630: A food source for the larvae, though in the Aculeata the ovipositor is often modified instead into a sting used for defense or prey capture. Wasps play many ecological roles . Some are predators or pollinators , whether to feed themselves or to provision their nests. Many, notably the cuckoo wasps , are kleptoparasites , laying eggs in the nests of other wasps. Many of the solitary wasps are parasitoidal , meaning they lay eggs on or in other insects (any life stage from egg to adult) and often provision their own nests with such hosts . Unlike true parasites,
999-484: A football club in Scotland . Wasps have been modelled in jewellery since at least the nineteenth century, when diamond and emerald wasp brooches were made in gold and silver settings. A fashion for wasp waisted female silhouettes with sharply cinched waistlines emphasizing the wearer's hips and bust arose repeatedly in the nineteenth and twentieth centuries. The Ancient Greek playwright Aristophanes wrote
1110-410: A fur-like covering of soft hairs and a special body part for pollen storage ( pollen basket ) as some bees do, pollen does not stick to them well. However it has been shown that even without hairs, several wasp species are able to effectively transport pollen, therefore contributing for potential pollination of several plant species. Pollen wasps in the subfamily Masarinae gather nectar and pollen in
1221-446: A hundred thousand described species around the world, and a great many more as yet undescribed. For example, almost every one of some 1000 species of tropical fig trees has its own specific fig wasp ( Chalcidoidea ) that has co-evolved with it and pollinates it. Many wasp species are parasitoids; the females deposit eggs on or in a host arthropod on which the larvae then feed. Some larvae start off as parasitoids, but convert at
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#17328556691481332-424: A large satin waistcoat with flaps, were got up, of which the silk was perfect, but the lining entirely gone ... from the thread giving way ... No articles of dress of woollen cloth have yet been found.' Silk is a poor conductor of electricity and thus susceptible to static cling . Silk has a high emissivity for infrared light, making it feel cool to the touch. Unwashed silk chiffon may shrink up to 8% due to
1443-413: A later stage to consuming the plant tissues that their host is feeding on. In other species, the eggs are laid directly into plant tissues and form galls , which protect the developing larvae from predators, but not necessarily from other parasitic wasps. In some species, the larvae are predatory themselves; the wasp eggs are deposited in clusters of eggs laid by other insects, and these are then consumed by
1554-718: A long history of a formative textile industry in ancient China, this find of silk textiles employing "complicated techniques" of weaving and dyeing provides direct evidence for silks dating before the Mawangdui -discovery and other silks dating to the Han dynasty (202 BC – 220 AD). Silk is described in a chapter of the Fan Shengzhi shu from the Western Han (202 BC – 9 AD). There is a surviving calendar for silk production in an Eastern Han (25–220 AD) document. The two other known works on silk from
1665-502: A mutualistic relationship with a polydnavirus that weakens the host's immune system and replicates in the oviduct of the female wasp. One family of chalcidoid wasps, the Eucharitidae , has specialized as parasitoids of ants , most species hosted by one genus of ant. Eucharitids are among the few parasitoids that have been able to overcome ants' effective defences against parasitoids. Many species of wasp, including especially
1776-440: A number of small firms and cooperatives emerged. Among the most prominent of these was the cooperative utopian Northampton Association for Education and Industry, of which Sojourner Truth was a member. Following the destructive Mill River Flood of 1874 , one manufacturer, William Skinner , relocated his mill from Williamsburg to the then-new city of Holyoke . Over the next 50 years he and his sons would maintain relations between
1887-538: A protected environment; this may be the body of a host organism or a cell in a nest, where the larva either eats the provisions left for it or, in social species, is fed by the adults. Such larvae have soft bodies with no limbs, and have a blind gut (presumably so that they do not foul their cell). Adult solitary wasps mainly feed on nectar, but the majority of their time is taken up by foraging for food for their carnivorous young, mostly insects or spiders. Apart from providing food for their larval offspring, no maternal care
1998-440: A relaxation of the fiber macrostructure, so silk should either be washed prior to garment construction, or dry cleaned . Dry cleaning may still shrink the chiffon up to 4%. Occasionally, this shrinkage can be reversed by a gentle steaming with a press cloth. There is almost no gradual shrinkage nor shrinkage due to molecular-level deformation. Wasp A wasp is any insect of the narrow-waisted suborder Apocrita of
2109-417: A small amount, it remains stretched. It can be weakened if exposed to too much sunlight. It may also be attacked by insects, especially if left dirty. One example of the durable nature of silk over other fabrics is demonstrated by the recovery in 1840 of silk garments from a wreck of 1782 : 'The most durable article found has been silk; for besides pieces of cloaks and lace, a pair of black satin breeches, and
2220-524: A stinger for both defence and for paralysing prey. In addition to their large compound eyes , wasps have several simple eyes known as ocelli , which are typically arranged in a triangle just forward of the vertex of the head. Wasps possess mandibles adapted for biting and cutting, like those of many other insects, such as grasshoppers , but their other mouthparts are formed into a suctorial proboscis , which enables them to drink nectar. The larvae of wasps resemble maggots , and are adapted for life in
2331-401: A true brood parasite is the paper wasp Polistes sulcifer , which lays its eggs in the nests of other paper wasps (specifically Polistes dominula ), and whose larvae are then fed directly by the host. Sand wasps Ammophila often save time and energy by parasitising the nests of other females of their own species, either kleptoparasitically stealing prey, or as brood parasites, removing
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#17328556691482442-416: A white-colored silk thread with no mineral on the surface. The pupae are killed by either dipping them in boiling water before the adult moths emerge or by piercing them with a needle. These factors all contribute to the ability of the whole cocoon to be unravelled as one continuous thread, permitting a much stronger cloth to be woven from the silk. Wild silks also tend to be more difficult to dye than silk from
2553-480: A wide variety of prey, mainly other insects (including other Hymenoptera), both larvae and adults. The Pompilidae specialize in catching spiders to provision their nests. Some social wasps are omnivorous, feeding on fallen fruit, nectar, and carrion such as dead insects. Adult male wasps sometimes visit flowers to obtain nectar . Some wasps, such as Polistes fuscatus , commonly return to locations where they previously found prey to forage. In many social species,
2664-434: Is a natural protein fiber , some forms of which can be woven into textiles . The protein fiber of silk is composed mainly of fibroin and is produced by certain insect larvae to form cocoons . The best-known silk is obtained from the cocoons of the larvae of the mulberry silkworm Bombyx mori reared in captivity ( sericulture ). The shimmering appearance of silk is due to the triangular prism -like structure of
2775-508: Is a parasitoid of the Atlas beetle Chalcosoma atlas . The female giant ichneumon wasp Megarhyssa macrurus is 12.5 centimetres (5 in) long including its very long but slender ovipositor which is used for boring into wood and inserting eggs. The smallest wasps are solitary parasitoid wasps in the family Mymaridae , including the world's smallest known insect, Dicopomorpha echmepterygis (139 micrometres long) and Kikiki huna with
2886-509: Is composed mostly of beta-sheets , due to a 59-mer amino acid repeat sequence with some variations. The flat surfaces of the fibrils reflect light at many angles, giving silk a natural sheen. The cross-section from other silkworms can vary in shape and diameter: crescent-like for Anaphe and elongated wedge for tussah . Silkworm fibers are naturally extruded from two silkworm glands as a pair of primary filaments (brin), which are stuck together, with sericin proteins that act like glue , to form
2997-537: Is concentrated in the Coimbatore , Erode , Bhagalpuri , Tiruppur , Salem , and Dharmapuri districts. Hyderabad , Andhra Pradesh , and Gobichettipalayam , Tamil Nadu , were the first locations to have automated silk reeling units in India. In the northeastern state of Assam , three different types of indigenous variety of silk are produced, collectively called Assam silk : Muga silk , Eri silk and Pat silk . Muga,
3108-504: Is forbidden. Modern attire has raised a number of issues, including, for instance, the permissibility of wearing silk neckties , which are masculine articles of clothing. In the Odyssey , 19.233, when Odysseus, while pretending to be someone else, is questioned by Penelope about her husband's clothing, he says that he wore a shirt "gleaming like the skin of a dried onion" (varies with translations, literal translation here) which could refer to
3219-413: Is fully mutualistic . Most solitary wasps are parasitoids. As adults, those that do feed typically only take nectar from flowers. Parasitoid wasps are extremely diverse in habits, many laying their eggs in inert stages of their host ( egg or pupa ), sometimes paralysing their prey by injecting it with venom through their ovipositor. They then insert one or more eggs into the host or deposit them upon
3330-463: Is generally considered Russell's best novel. In Stieg Larsson 's book The Girl Who Played with Fire (2006) and its film adaptation , Lisbeth Salander has adopted her kickboxing ringname, "The Wasp", as her hacker handle and has a wasp tattoo on her neck, indicating her high status among hackers, unlike her real world situation, and that like a small but painfully stinging wasp, she could be dangerous. Parasitoidal wasps played an indirect role in
3441-492: Is given. Some wasp species provide food for the young repeatedly during their development ( progressive provisioning ). Others, such as potter wasps (Eumeninae) and sand wasps ( Ammophila , Sphecidae ), repeatedly build nests which they stock with a supply of immobilised prey such as one large caterpillar, laying a single egg in or on its body, and then sealing up the entrance ( mass provisioning ). Predatory and parasitoidal wasps subdue their prey by stinging it. They hunt
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3552-627: Is involved in caring for its own offspring (except for such actions as stealing other wasps' prey or laying in other wasp's nests). There are some species of solitary wasp that build communal nests, each insect having its own cell and providing food for its own offspring, but these wasps do not adopt the division of labour and the complex behavioural patterns adopted by eusocial species. Adult solitary wasps spend most of their time in preparing their nests and foraging for food for their young, mostly insects or spiders. Their nesting habits are more diverse than those of social wasps. Many species dig burrows in
3663-584: Is now part of Malaysia , a second generation of silkworm was being imported as early as 1764 for the country's silk textile industry, especially songket . However, since the 1980s, Malaysia is no longer engaged in sericulture but does plant mulberry trees. In Vietnamese legend, silk appeared in the first millennium AD and is still being woven today. The process of silk production is known as sericulture . The entire production process of silk can be divided into several steps which are typically handled by different entities. Extracting raw silk starts by cultivating
3774-527: Is potentially large when compared with other natural fibers. A life-cycle assessment of Indian silk production shows that the production process has a large carbon and water footprint, mainly due to the fact that it is an animal-derived fiber and more inputs such as fertilizer and water are needed per unit of fiber produced. Silk fibers from the Bombyx mori silkworm have a triangular cross section with rounded corners, 5–10 μm wide. The fibroin-heavy chain
3885-415: Is soaked in extremely cold water and bleached before dyeing to remove the natural yellow coloring of Thai silk yarn. To do this, skeins of silk thread are immersed in large tubs of hydrogen peroxide . Once washed and dried, the silk is woven on a traditional hand-operated loom. The Rajshahi Division of northern Bangladesh is the hub of the country's silk industry. There are three types of silk produced in
3996-584: Is the presence of the silk protein fibroin in soil samples from two tombs at the neolithic site Jiahu in Henan , which date back about 8,500 years. The earliest surviving example of silk fabric dates from about 3630 BC, and was used as the wrapping for the body of a child at a Yangshao culture site in Qingtaicun near Xingyang , Henan. Legend gives credit for developing silk to a Chinese empress, Leizu (Hsi-Ling-Shih, Lei-Tzu). Silks were originally reserved for
4107-474: Is the second largest producer of silk in the world after China. About 97% of the raw mulberry silk comes from six Indian states, namely, Andhra Pradesh , Karnataka , Jammu and Kashmir , Tamil Nadu , Bihar , and West Bengal . North Bangalore, the upcoming site of a $ 20 million "Silk City" Ramanagara and Mysore , contribute to a majority of silk production in Karnataka. In Tamil Nadu , mulberry cultivation
4218-611: Is used to control the peach-potato aphid. Wasps RFC is an English professional rugby union team originally based in London but now playing in Coventry; the name dates from 1867 at a time when names of insects were fashionable for clubs. The club's first kit is black with yellow stripes. The club has an amateur side called Wasps FC . Among the other clubs bearing the name are a basketball club in Wantirna, Australia, and Alloa Athletic F.C. ,
4329-616: The Great Palace complex in Constantinople, and the cloth produced was used in imperial robes or in diplomacy, as gifts to foreign dignitaries. The remainder was sold at very high prices. Italy was the most important producer of silk during the Medieval age. The first center to introduce silk production to Italy was the city of Catanzaro during the 11th century in the region of Calabria . The silk of Catanzaro supplied almost all of Europe and
4440-601: The Royal Navy have been named HMS Wasp , the first an 8-gun sloop launched in 1749. Eleven ships of the United States Navy have similarly borne the name USS Wasp , the first a merchant schooner acquired by the Continental Navy in 1775. The eighth of these, an aircraft carrier , gained two Second World War battle stars, prompting Winston Churchill to remark "Who said a Wasp couldn't sting twice?" In
4551-718: The Torah , a scarlet cloth item called in Hebrew "sheni tola'at" שני תולעת – literally "crimson of the worm" – is described as being used in purification ceremonies, such as those following a leprosy outbreak (Leviticus 14), alongside cedar wood and hyssop ( za'atar ). Eminent scholar and leading medieval translator of Jewish sources and books of the Bible into Arabic , Rabbi Saadia Gaon , translates this phrase explicitly as "crimson silk" – חריר קרמז حرير قرمز. In Islamic teachings, Muslim men are forbidden to wear silk. Many religious jurists believe
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4662-509: The Yayoi period . The silk industry was dominant from the 1930s to 1950s, but is less common now. Silk from East Asia had declined in importance after silkworms were smuggled from China to the Byzantine Empire. However, in 1845, an epidemic of flacherie among European silkworms devastated the silk industry there. This led to a demand for silk from China and Japan , where as late as
4773-539: The comedy play Σφῆκες ( Sphēkes ), The Wasps , first put on in 422 BC. The "wasps" are the chorus of old jurors. H. G. Wells made use of giant wasps in his novel The Food of the Gods and How It Came to Earth (1904): It flew, he is convinced, within a yard of him, struck the ground, rose again, came down again perhaps thirty yards away, and rolled over with its body wriggling and its sting stabbing out and back in its last agony. He emptied both barrels into it before he ventured to go near. When he came to measure
4884-521: The evolution of eusocial behaviour . Females are diploid , meaning that they have 2n chromosomes and develop from fertilized eggs. Males, called drones, have a haploid (n) number of chromosomes and develop from an unfertilized egg. Wasps store sperm inside their body and control its release for each individual egg as it is laid; if a female wishes to produce a male egg, she simply lays the egg without fertilizing it. Therefore, under most conditions in most species, wasps have complete voluntary control over
4995-539: The head , the mesosoma (including the thorax and the first segment of the abdomen) and the metasoma. There is a narrow waist, the petiole , joining the first and second segments of the abdomen. The two pairs of membranous wings are held together by small hooks and the forewings are larger than the hind ones; in some species, the females have no wings. In females there is usually a rigid ovipositor which may be modified for injecting venom, piercing or sawing. It either extends freely or can be retracted, and may be developed into
5106-471: The 12th century. Other Italian cities involved in silk production were Genoa , Venice , and Florence . The Piedmont area of Northern Italy became a major silk producing area when water-powered silk throwing machines were developed. The Silk Exchange in Valencia from the 15th century—where previously in 1348 also perxal ( percale ) was traded as some kind of silk—illustrates the power and wealth of one of
5217-579: The 17th century. James I attempted to establish silk production in England, purchasing and planting 100,000 mulberry trees, some on land adjacent to Hampton Court Palace , but they were of a species unsuited to the silk worms, and the attempt failed. In 1732 John Guardivaglio set up a silk throwing enterprise at Logwood mill in Stockport ; in 1744, Burton Mill was erected in Macclesfield ; and in 1753 Old Mill
5328-483: The 1860s, the English upper middle classes embraced wearing cravats with a consequently lower quality of materials and designs used in both the neckwear and in the stickpins used to keep it in place. By the 1870s, Americans had embraced stickpins and designs were mass-produced which included animal heads, horse shoes, knife and fork motifs, crossed pipes, wishbones, bugs, flowers, shields and a host of other figural motifs. By
5439-445: The 1890s, stickpins had crossed gender lines as women began wearing them with sporting outfits worn for bicycling, boating, horseback riding, tennis, and golf. The ascot , four-in-hand, sailor scarf, cravat bow tie, and wrapped scarf all became popular for both men and women, and all could be set off with an ornamental stickpin. The temperance campaigner , Carrie Nation partly financed her " hatchetations " from sales of stick pins in
5550-631: The American silk industry and its counterparts in Japan, and expanded their business to the point that by 1911, the Skinner Mill complex contained the largest silk mill under one roof in the world, and the brand Skinner Fabrics had become the largest manufacturer of silk satins internationally. Other efforts later in the 19th century would also bring the new silk industry to Paterson, New Jersey , with several firms hiring European-born textile workers and granting it
5661-581: The Chinese monopoly . Nonetheless, sericulture reached Korea with technological aid from China around 200 BC, the ancient Kingdom of Khotan by AD 50, and India by AD 140. In the ancient era, silk from China was the most lucrative and sought-after luxury item traded across the Eurasian continent, and many civilizations, such as the ancient Persians, benefited economically from trade. Archaeological evidence indicates that sericulture has been practiced since
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#17328556691485772-553: The Chinese word "sī" and other Asian sources—compare Mandarin sī "silk", Manchurian sirghe , Mongolian sirkek . The production of silk originated in China in the Neolithic period, although it would eventually reach other places of the world ( Yangshao culture, 4th millennium BC). Silk production remained confined to China until the Silk Road opened at some point during
5883-726: The Crato Formation in Brazil, some 65 million years before the first fig trees. The Vespidae include the extinct genus Palaeovespa , seven species of which are known from the Eocene rocks of the Florissant fossil beds of Colorado and from fossilised Baltic amber in Europe. Also found in Baltic amber are crown wasps of the genus Electrostephanus . Wasps are a diverse group, estimated at well over
5994-636: The Han period are lost. The first evidence of the long distance silk trade is the finding of silk in the hair of an Egyptian mummy of the 21st dynasty, c.1070 BC. The silk trade reached as far as the Indian subcontinent , the Middle East , Europe , and North Africa . This trade was so extensive that the major set of trade routes between Europe and Asia came to be known as the Silk Road . The emperors of China strove to keep knowledge of sericulture secret to maintain
6105-618: The Japanese silk industry and its position as the lead silk exporter of the world. Today, China exports the largest volume of raw silk in the world. Silk has a long history in India. It is known as Resham in eastern and north India, and Pattu in southern parts of India . Recent archaeological discoveries in Harappa and Chanhu-daro suggest that sericulture , employing wild silk threads from native silkworm species, existed in South Asia during
6216-520: The Middle East by Peter Gaddum . Wild silk taken from the nests of native caterpillars was used by the Aztecs to make containers and as paper. Silkworms were introduced to Oaxaca from Spain in the 1530s and the region profited from silk production until the early 17th century, when the king of Spain banned export to protect Spain's silk industry. Silk production for local consumption has continued until
6327-455: The bird family Meropidae) specialise in eating stinging insects, making aerial sallies from a perch to catch them, and removing the venom from the stinger by repeatedly brushing the prey firmly against a hard object, such as a twig. The honey buzzard attacks the nests of social hymenopterans, eating wasp larvae; it is the only known predator of the dangerous Asian giant hornet or "yak-killer" ( Vespa mandarinia ). Likewise, roadrunners are
6438-502: The body fluids of their prey. Although vespid mandibles are adapted for chewing and they appear to be feeding on the organism, they are often merely macerating it into submission. The impact of the predation of wasps on economic pests is difficult to establish. The roughly 140 species of beewolf ( Philanthinae ) hunt bees, including honeybees, to provision their nests; the adults feed on nectar and pollen. With their powerful stings and conspicuous warning coloration , social wasps are
6549-424: The cuckoo or jewel wasps ( Chrysididae ), are kleptoparasites, laying their eggs in the nests of other wasp species to exploit their parental care. Most such species attack hosts that provide provisions for their immature stages (such as paralyzed prey items), and they either consume the provisions intended for the host larva, or wait for the host to develop and then consume it before it reaches adulthood. An example of
6660-482: The cultivated silkworm. A technique known as demineralizing allows the mineral layer around the cocoon of wild silk moths to be removed, leaving only variability in color as a barrier to creating a commercial silk industry based on wild silks in the parts of the world where wild silk moths thrive, such as in Africa and South America. Silk use in fabric was first developed in ancient China. The earliest evidence for silk
6771-554: The developing wasp larvae. The largest social wasp is the Asian giant hornet , at up to 5 centimetres (2.0 in) in length. The various tarantula hawk wasps are of a similar size and can overpower a spider many times its own weight, and move it to its burrow, with a sting that is excruciatingly painful to humans. The solitary giant scoliid , Megascolia procer , with a wingspan of 11.5 cm, has subspecies in Sumatra and Java ; it
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#17328556691486882-511: The domesticated varieties in colour and texture and are therefore less uniform; second, cocoons gathered in the wild have usually had the pupa emerge from them before being discovered so the silk thread that makes up the cocoon has been torn into shorter lengths; and third, many wild cocoons are covered in a mineral layer that prevents attempts to reel from them long strands of silk. Thus, the only way to obtain silk suitable for spinning into textiles in areas where commercial silks are not cultivated
6993-708: The early center of the silk industry in America, when the Cheney Brothers became the first in the United States to properly raise silkworms on an industrial scale; today the Cheney Brothers Historic District showcases their former mills. With the mulberry tree craze of that decade, other smaller producers began raising silkworms. This economy particularly gained traction in the vicinity of Northampton, Massachusetts and its neighboring Williamsburg , where
7104-411: The emperors of China for their own use and gifts to others, but spread gradually through Chinese culture and trade both geographically and socially, and then to many regions of Asia . Because of its texture and lustre, silk rapidly became a popular luxury fabric in the many areas accessible to Chinese merchants. Silk was in great demand, and became a staple of pre- industrial international trade . Silk
7215-464: The families Vespidae , Crabronidae , Sphecidae , and Pompilidae , attack and sting prey items that they use as food for their larvae; while Vespidae usually macerate their prey and feed the resulting bits directly to their brood, most predatory wasps paralyze their prey and lay eggs directly upon the bodies, and the wasp larvae consume them. Apart from collecting prey items to provision their young, many wasps are also opportunistic feeders, and will suck
7326-516: The family Vespidae and are eusocial , living together in a nest with an egg-laying queen and non-reproducing workers. Eusociality is favoured by the unusual haplodiploid system of sex determination in Hymenoptera, as it makes sisters exceptionally closely related to each other. However, the majority of wasp species are solitary, with each adult female living and breeding independently. Females typically have an ovipositor for laying eggs in or near
7437-512: The family Vespidae contains social species, primarily in the subfamilies Vespinae and Polistinae . With their powerful stings and conspicuous warning coloration , often in black and yellow, social wasps are frequent models for Batesian mimicry by non-stinging insects, and are themselves involved in mutually beneficial Müllerian mimicry of other distasteful insects including bees and other wasps. All species of social wasps construct their nests using some form of plant fiber (mostly wood pulp) as
7548-581: The first species to be used was Encarsia formosa , a parasitoid of a range of species of whitefly . It entered commercial use in the 1920s in Europe, was overtaken by chemical pesticides in the 1940s, and again received interest from the 1970s. Encarsia is being tested in greenhouses to control whitefly pests of tomato and cucumber , and to a lesser extent of aubergine (eggplant), flowers such as marigold , and strawberry . Several species of parasitic wasp are natural predators of aphids and can help to control them. For instance, Aphidius matricariae
7659-495: The golden silk, and Eri are produced by silkworms that are native only to Assam. They have been reared since ancient times similar to other East and South-East Asian countries. Silk is produced year-round in Thailand by two types of silkworms, the cultured Bombycidae and wild Saturniidae. Most production is after the rice harvest in the southern and northeastern parts of the country. Women traditionally weave silk on hand looms and pass
7770-556: The great Mediterranean mercantile cities. Silk was produced in and exported from the province of Granada , Spain, especially the Alpujarras region, until the Moriscos , whose industry it was, were expelled from Granada in 1571. Since the 15th century, silk production in France has been centered around the city of Lyon where many mechanic tools for mass production were first introduced in
7881-409: The ground. Mud daubers and pollen wasps construct mud cells in sheltered places. Potter wasps similarly build vase-like nests from mud, often with multiple cells, attached to the twigs of trees or against walls. Predatory wasp species normally subdue their prey by stinging it, and then either lay their eggs on it, leaving it in place, or carry it back to their nest where an egg may be laid on
7992-545: The largest silk exporter in the world. This increase in exports was mostly due to the economic reforms during the Meiji period and the decline of the Qing dynasty in China, which led to rapid industrialization of Japan whilst the Chinese industries stagnated. During World War II , embargoes against Japan had led to adoption of synthetic materials such as nylon , which led to the decline of
8103-466: The larvae exude copious amounts of salivary secretions that are avidly consumed by the adults. These include both sugars and amino acids , and may provide essential protein-building nutrients that are otherwise unavailable to the adults (who cannot digest proteins). In wasps, as in other Hymenoptera, sex is determined by a haplodiploid system, which means that females are unusually closely related to their sisters, enabling kin selection to favour
8214-460: The latter part of the 1st millennium BC, though China maintained its virtual monopoly over silk production for another thousand years. Several kinds of wild silk, produced by caterpillars other than the mulberry silkworm, have been known and spun in China , South Asia , and Europe since ancient times. However, the scale of production was always far smaller than for cultivated silks. There are several reasons for this: first, they differ from
8325-467: The lustrous quality of silk fabric. Aristotle wrote of Coa vestis , a wild silk textile from Kos . Sea silk from certain large sea shells was also valued. The Roman Empire knew of and traded in silk, and Chinese silk was the most highly priced luxury good imported by them. During the reign of emperor Tiberius , sumptuary laws were passed that forbade men from wearing silk garments, but these proved ineffectual. The Historia Augusta mentions that
8436-530: The models for many species of mimic. Two common cases are Batesian mimicry , where the mimic is harmless and is essentially bluffing, and Müllerian mimicry , where the mimic is also distasteful, and the mimicry can be considered mutual. Batesian mimics of wasps include many species of hoverfly and the wasp beetle . Many species of wasp are involved in Müllerian mimicry, as are many species of bee . While wasp stings deter many potential predators, bee-eaters (in
8547-488: The nickname "Silk City" as another major center of production in the United States. World War II interrupted the silk trade from Asia, and silk prices increased dramatically. U.S. industry began to look for substitutes, which led to the use of synthetics such as nylon . Synthetic silks have also been made from lyocell , a type of cellulose fiber, and are often difficult to distinguish from real silk (see spider silk for more on synthetic silks). In Terengganu , which
8658-422: The nineteenth and early twentieth centuries, Japanese exports competed directly with Chinese in the international market in such low value-added, labor-intensive products as raw silk. Between 1850 and 1930, raw silk ranked as the leading export for both countries, accounting for 20%–40% of Japan's total exports and 20%–30% of China's. Between the 1890s and the 1930s, Japanese silk exports quadrupled, making Japan
8769-418: The nineteenth-century evolution debate. The Ichneumonidae contributed to Charles Darwin 's doubts about the nature and existence of a well-meaning and all-powerful Creator. In an 1860 letter to the American naturalist Asa Gray , Darwin wrote: I own that I cannot see as plainly as others do, and as I should wish to do, evidence of design and beneficence on all sides of us. There seems to me too much misery in
8880-432: The only real predators of tarantula hawk wasps . Social wasps are considered pests when they become excessively common, or nest close to buildings. People are most often stung in late summer and early autumn, when wasp colonies stop breeding new workers; the existing workers search for sugary foods and are more likely to come into contact with humans. Wasp nests made in or near houses, such as in roof spaces, can present
8991-509: The order Hymenoptera which is neither a bee nor an ant ; this excludes the broad-waisted sawflies (Symphyta), which look somewhat like wasps, but are in a separate suborder. The wasps do not constitute a clade , a complete natural group with a single ancestor, as bees and ants are deeply nested within the wasps, having evolved from wasp ancestors. Wasps that are members of the clade Aculeata can sting their prey. The most commonly known wasps, such as yellowjackets and hornets , are in
9102-408: The other female's egg from the prey and laying their own in its place. According to Emery's rule , social parasites , especially among insects, tend to parasitise species or genera to which they are closely related. For example, the social wasp Dolichovespula adulterina parasitises other members of its genus such as D. norwegica and D. arenaria . Many wasp lineages, including those in
9213-565: The outside of the host. The host remains alive until the parasitoid larvae pupate or emerge as adults. The Ichneumonidae are specialized parasitoids, often of Lepidoptera larvae deeply buried in plant tissues, which may be woody . For this purpose, they have exceptionally long ovipositors; they detect their hosts by smell and vibration. Some of the largest species, including Rhyssa persuasoria and Megarhyssa macrurus , parasitise horntails , large sawflies whose adult females also have impressively long ovipositors. Some parasitic species have
9324-571: The present day, sometimes spinning wild silk. King James I introduced silk-growing to the British colonies in America around 1619, ostensibly to discourage tobacco planting. The Shakers in Kentucky adopted the practice. The history of industrial silk in the United States is largely tied to several smaller urban centers in the Northeast region. Beginning in the 1830s, Manchester, Connecticut emerged as
9435-431: The prey item and the nest sealed, or several smaller prey items may be deposited to feed a single developing larva. Apart from providing food for their offspring, no further maternal care is given. Members of the family Chrysididae , the cuckoo wasps, are kleptoparasites and lay their eggs in the nests of unrelated host species. Like all insects, wasps have a hard exoskeleton which protects their three main body parts,
9546-569: The primary material, though this can be supplemented with mud, plant secretions (e.g., resin ), and secretions from the wasps themselves; multiple fibrous brood cells are constructed, arranged in a honeycombed pattern, and often surrounded by a larger protective envelope. Wood fibres are gathered from weathered wood, softened by chewing and mixing with saliva . The placement of nests varies from group to group; yellow jackets such as Dolichovespula media and D. sylvestris prefer to nest in trees and shrubs; Protopolybia exigua attaches its nests on
9657-399: The reasoning behind the prohibition lies in avoiding clothing for men that can be considered feminine or extravagant. There are disputes regarding the amount of silk a fabric can consist of (e.g., whether a small decorative silk piece on a cotton caftan is permissible or not) for it to be lawful for men to wear, but the dominant opinion of most Muslim scholars is that the wearing of silk by men
9768-461: The region: mulberry, endi, and tassar. Bengali silk was a major item of international trade for centuries. It was known as Ganges silk in medieval Europe. Bengal was the leading exporter of silk between the 16th and 19th centuries. The 7th century CE murals of Afrasiyab in Samarkand , Sogdiana , show a Chinese Embassy carrying silk and a string of silkworm cocoons to the local Sogdian ruler. In
9879-418: The reproductive cycle depends on latitude ; Polistes erythrocephalus , for example, has a much longer (up to 3 months longer) cycle in temperate regions. The vast majority of wasp species are solitary insects. Having mated, the adult female forages alone and if it builds a nest, does so for the benefit of its own offspring. Some solitary wasps nest in small groups alongside others of their species, but each
9990-432: The sex of their offspring. Experimental infection of Muscidifurax uniraptor with the bacterium Wolbachia induced thelytokous reproduction and an inability to produce fertile, viable male offspring. Females of the solitary wasp parasitoid Venturia canescens can avoid mating with their brothers through kin recognition . In experimental comparisons, the probability that a female will mate with an unrelated male
10101-577: The shape of hatchets. The souvenirs were provided by a Topeka, Kansas , pharmacist. Engraved on the handle of the hatchet, the pin reads, "Death to Rum". Gold or silver style safety pins were commonly used as tie and collar pins from the beginning of the 20th century. Such a safety pin was used to fasten the tie to the shirt and was an integral part of a man's clothing or school uniform, being especially useful on formal occasions or in windy weather. Alternative ways to control unruly ties are available, although an ordinary safety pin inserted through from behind
10212-440: The shirt can invisibly secure the tie without damaging its surface. During the 1920s the use of straight ties made of delicate materials such as silk became more fashionable and the use of tie clips gained prominence, replacing the more traditional tie pin. Between 1894 and 1930 many patents were issued covering such issues as prong setting, ornament attachment, stickpin blanks, safety clutches, guards and decorations. One patent
10323-1000: The silk fibre, which allows silk cloth to refract incoming light at different angles , thus producing different colors. Silk is produced by several insects; but, generally, only the silk of moth caterpillars has been used for textile manufacturing. There has been some research into other types of silk, which differ at the molecular level. Silk is mainly produced by the larvae of insects undergoing complete metamorphosis , but some insects, such as webspinners and raspy crickets , produce silk throughout their lives. Silk production also occurs in hymenoptera ( bees , wasps , and ants ), silverfish , caddisflies , mayflies , thrips , leafhoppers , beetles , lacewings , fleas , flies , and midges . Other types of arthropods produce silk, most notably various arachnids , such as spiders . The word silk comes from Old English : sioloc , from Latin : sericum and Ancient Greek : σηρικός , romanized : sērikós , "silken", ultimately from
10434-745: The silkworms on mulberry leaves. Once the worms start pupating in their cocoons, these are dissolved in boiling water in order for individual long fibres to be extracted and fed into the spinning reel. To produce 1 kg of silk, 104 kg of mulberry leaves must be eaten by 3000 silkworms. It takes about 5000 silkworms to make a pure silk kimono . The major silk producers are China (54%) and India (14%). Other statistics: Production in Int $ 1000 have been calculated based on 1999–2001 international prices Source: Food And Agricultural Organization of United Nations: Economic And Social Department: The Statistical Division The environmental impact of silk production
10545-400: The skill on to their daughters, as weaving is considered to be a sign of maturity and eligibility for marriage. Thai silk textiles often use complicated patterns in various colours and styles. Most regions of Thailand have their own typical silks. A single thread filament is too thin to use on its own so women combine many threads to produce a thicker, usable fiber. They do this by hand-reeling
10656-685: The subfamily Polistinae . Hymenoptera in the form of Symphyta ( Xyelidae ) first appeared in the fossil record in the Lower Triassic . Apocrita, wasps in the broad sense, appeared in the Jurassic , and had diversified into many of the extant superfamilies by the Cretaceous ; they appear to have evolved from the Symphyta. Fig wasps with modern anatomical features first appeared in the Lower Cretaceous of
10767-400: The thing, he found it was twenty-seven and a half inches across its open wings, and its sting was three inches long. ... The day after, a cyclist riding, feet up, down the hill between Sevenoaks and Tonbridge, very narrowly missed running over a second of these giants that was crawling across the roadway. Wasp (1957) is a science fiction book by the English writer Eric Frank Russell ; it
10878-561: The third-century emperor Elagabalus was the first Roman to wear garments of pure silk, whereas it had been customary to wear fabrics of silk/cotton or silk/linen blends. Despite the popularity of silk, the secret of silk-making only reached Europe around AD 550, via the Byzantine Empire . Contemporary accounts state that monks working for the emperor Justinian I smuggled silkworm eggs to Constantinople from China inside hollow canes. All top-quality looms and weavers were located inside
10989-435: The threads onto a wooden spindle to produce a uniform strand of raw silk. The process takes around 40 hours to produce a half kilogram of silk. Many local operations use a reeling machine for this task, but some silk threads are still hand-reeled. The difference is that hand-reeled threads produce three grades of silk: two fine grades that are ideal for lightweight fabrics, and a thick grade for heavier material. The silk fabric
11100-700: The time of the Indus Valley civilisation (now in Pakistan and India) dating between 2450 BC and 2000 BC. Shelagh Vainker, a silk expert at the Ashmolean Museum in Oxford, who sees evidence for silk production in China "significantly earlier" than 2500–2000 BC, suggests, "people of the Indus civilization either harvested silkworm cocoons or traded with people who did, and that they knew a considerable amount about silk." India
11211-422: The underside of leaves and branches; Polistes erythrocephalus chooses sites close to a water source. Other wasps, like Agelaia multipicta and Vespula germanica , like to nest in cavities that include holes in the ground, spaces under homes, wall cavities or in lofts. While most species of wasps have nests with multiple combs, some species, such as Apoica flavissima , only have one comb. The length of
11322-493: The wasp larvae eventually kill their hosts. Solitary wasps parasitize almost every pest insect , making wasps valuable in horticulture for biological pest control of species such as whitefly in tomatoes and other crops. Wasps first appeared in the fossil record in the Jurassic , and diversified into many surviving superfamilies by the Cretaceous . They are a successful and diverse group of insects with tens of thousands of described species; wasps have spread to all parts of
11433-402: The wasp larvae feed temporarily on their haemolymph , but if a parasitoid emerges from the host, the hyperparasites continue their life cycle inside the parasitoid. Parasitoids maintain their extreme diversity through narrow specialism. In Peru, 18 wasp species were found living on 14 fly species in only two species of Gurania climbing squash. Of the dozens of extant wasp families, only
11544-418: The world except for the polar regions. The largest social wasp is the Asian giant hornet , at up to 5 centimetres (2.0 in) in length; among the largest solitary wasps is a group of species known as tarantula hawks , along with the giant scoliid of Indonesia ( Megascolia procer ). The smallest wasps are solitary parasitoid wasps in the family Mymaridae , including the world's smallest known insect, with
11655-468: The world. I cannot persuade myself that a beneficent and omnipotent God would have designedly created the Ichneumonidae with the express intention of their feeding within the living bodies of caterpillars, or that a cat should play with mice. With its powerful sting and familiar appearance, the wasp has given its name to many ships, aircraft and military vehicles. Nine ships and one shore establishment of
11766-503: Was about twice as high as the chance of her mating with brothers. Female wasps appear to recognize siblings on the basis of a chemical signature carried or emitted by males. Sibling-mating avoidance reduces inbreeding depression that is largely due to the expression of homozygous deleterious recessive mutations. While the vast majority of wasps play no role in pollination, a few species can effectively transport pollen and pollinate several plant species. Since wasps generally do not have
11877-662: Was also used as a surface for writing, especially during the Warring States period (475–221 BCE). The fabric was light, it survived the damp climate of the Yangtze region, absorbed ink well, and provided a white background for the text. In July 2007, archaeologists discovered intricately woven and dyed silk textiles in a tomb in Jiangxi province, dated to the Eastern Zhou dynasty roughly 2,500 years ago. Although historians have suspected
11988-755: Was built in Congleton . These three towns remained the centre of the English silk throwing industry until silk throwing was replaced by silk waste spinning . British enterprise also established silk filature in Cyprus in 1928. In England in the mid-20th century, raw silk was produced at Lullingstone Castle in Kent. Silkworms were raised and reeled under the direction of Zoe Lady Hart Dyke , later moving to Ayot St Lawrence in Hertfordshire in 1956. During World War II , supplies of silk for UK parachute manufacture were secured from
12099-464: Was by tedious and labor-intensive carding . Some natural silk structures have been used without being unwound or spun. Spider webs were used as a wound dressing in ancient Greece and Rome, and as a base for painting from the 16th century. Caterpillar nests were pasted together to make a fabric in the Aztec Empire . Commercial silks originate from reared silkworm pupae, which are bred to produce
12210-460: Was for a brooch which could convert the center medallion to a stickpin. Another concealed a small lead pencil point attached to the shaft of the pin. Still another included a small water reservoir behind the ornamental head of the stick pin in which a flower blossom could be placed. Patent 1,301,568 dated April 22, 1919 was for a luminous stickpin with a star motif disk-like head which held a small drop of radioactive material. Silk Silk
12321-609: Was sold in a large market fair in the port of Reggio Calabria , to Spanish, Venetian, Genovese, and Dutch merchants. Catanzaro became the lace capital of the world with a large silkworm breeding facility that produced all the laces and linens used in the Vatican. The city was world-famous for its fine fabrication of silks, velvets, damasks, and brocades. Another notable center was the Italian city-state of Lucca which largely financed itself through silk-production and silk-trading, beginning in
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