ABSTRACT
The ants, family Formicidae, include a number of synanthropic species that are pests in establishments where foods are prepared, processed or packed. The wasps include a number of families of parasitoids that are attracted to insect-infested foods in search of hosts for their larvae. Many of these parasitoid species are more or less specialists in using different groups of stored-product insects as hosts. The mouthparts of ants and most wasps consist of unmodified labrum, mandibles, maxillae and labium. The labrum is a conspicuous sclerite, the clypeus, that is characteristically shaped for many families and genera. In some stingless ants, the gaster bears a conspicuous opening, the acidopore, that exudes defensive chemicals when the animal is alarmed or aggressive. The pedicel of ants is composed of one or two distinctively beadlike segments, the petiole and postpetiole. The wing venation of ants is of marginal use in food sanitation work because most of the contaminants are apterous workers.
