What are bees, wasps and ants?

These highly developed social insects are part of the large hymonoptera order of insects which can generally be broken down into three groups – bees, wasps and ants. Their life cycle follows a complete metamorphisis with distinct egg, larval, pupal and adult stages. Their social structure includes infertile females (workers), fertile females (queens) and fertile males which only appear at certain stages in the development of the colony.