The species can provide important ecosystem services such as pollination, herbivore deterrence and predation of disease vectors.

[3] In 2004 whilst investigating the phylogeny of Epiponini, Noll et al. used discretised morphometric measurements of caste differentiation to reinforced the relationship between Brachygastra and Chartergus.

[4] Since then both Arevalo et al. (2004) and Pickett and Carpenter (2010) have placed Barchygastra as a sister genus of Protonectarina after analysing molecular, morphological and behavioural data, however, both groups did not include Chartergus.

[7] The rest of the genus Brachygastra has historically been divided into two main groups consisting of closely related species.

[7] B. lecheguana and B. mellifica can only be separated by male genitalia features whilst B. borellii has distinct long hairs and deep punctation on the head and on the mesosoma.

[10][7][8] Humid and forested environments are typical habitat for these wasps, although B. augusti, B. mouleae, B. moebiana and B. lecheguana can inhabit areas with open vegetation.

[11] The Greater Antilles and Aves Ridge land bridge, GAARlandia preceded the formation of the Isthmus of Panama and is thought to have connected the Nearctic and Neotropics, allowing the ancestor of the lecheguana and azteca group to disperse between North, Central and South America.

[8] From 23 to 10 Ma, the Andean uplift accelerated and rapidly changed the Amazonian landscape, with the formation of the vast network of lakes, swamps and wetlands called the Pebas system.

[11] It grew to approximately 1 million km2 in the northern portion of South America,[11] working to separate populations of ancestral Brachygastra.

The abdomen is often described as truncate due to being wider than it is long (and the genus name means “short-bellied”).

[6][3][7] Variation in the size and density of punctures on different parts of the body has been used to describe and identify species, subspecies, and forms of the genus.

Nests can contain thousands of individuals and range in size depending on species and colony age or health.

[9] The nectar gathering activity of these wasp species allows them to provide pollination services to some plant types, such as myrtaceae in the Cerrado,[17] sunflower (Helianthus annuus L., Asteraceae) and mesquite in the Lower Rio Grande Valley of Texas and Avocado.

[15][14] Damaged plants release volatile compounds that act as chemical and olfactory cues for predatory Brachygastra species, attracting them to the source of the grazing herbivorous insect.

[19] They have been observed attacking many insect pest species such as Asian citrus psyllid (Diaphorina citri),[15][16] tomato leafminer (Tuta absoluta),[19] cotton boll weevil larvae (Anthonomus grandis), and the white coffee leaf miner larvae (Perileucoptera coffeella),[15] suggesting that they have potential to be used as a biological control agent for human crops.