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Representatives of the subfamily Masarinae (Vespidae) (sensu Carpenter, 1982) occur principally in Mediterranean and temperate to hot, semi-arid to arid areas of the world. Masarines, as a group, mostly favour warm to hot areas with a relatively low rainfall and open scrubby vegetation.

The subfamily Masarinae is composed of two tribes: the Gayellini, which is restricted to the Neotropical Region; and the Masarini, which is more widespread. The tribe Masarini is represented in the Nearctic, Neotropical, Palaearctic and Afrotropical regions by the subtribe Masarina, and in the Australian Region by the subtribe Paragiina (sensu Carpenter, in prep.). There is a high degree of endemism. Genera are shared only between the Palaearctic and the Afrotropical regions. No species are shared. The area of greatest species richness is southern Africa with c. 145 known species, followed by the Mediterranean and associated xeric areas with c. 60, Australia with c. 29, North America with c. 15, and South America with c. 11.

There is evidence for a high incidence of oligolecty amongst the masarines, which, like the bees, provision their nest cells with pollen and nectar. There are marked differences in major choices of flower taxa between geographic regions. Connections are, however, discernable when relatedness of forage plant taxa is considered. Furthermore, there are marked correlations between areas of species-richness of masarines and of their forage plants.