Definition of "hymenopteran" [hy•me•nop•ter•an]

• Of or belonging to the order Hymenoptera. (adjective)
• Any insects of the order Hymenoptera, including the bees, wasps, and ants, often living in complex social groups and characteristically having two pairs of membranous wings. (noun)

American Heritage(R) Dictionary of the English Language, Fifth Edition. Copyright (c) 2011 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.

• "Nor has a single example come to light from among the 4,000 known hymenopteran sawflies and horntails, even though their larvae often form dense cooperative aggregations."
• "A phylogenetic analysis revealed that HEX 110 is located at the most basal position among the holometabola hexamerins, and like HEX 70a and HEX 70c, it shares potential orthology relationship with hexamerins from other hymenopteran species."
• "D, Fietz A, Hertel H, de Souza J, Ventura DF, et al. (1992) The spectral input systems of hymenopteran insects and their receptor-based colour vision."