Scoliidae
| Scoliidae | |
|---|---|
 |
|
| Black flower wasp (Scolia soror), Australia | |
| Scientific classification | |
| Kingdom: | Animalia |
| Phylum: | Arthropoda |
| Class: | Insecta |
| Order: | Hymenoptera |
| Superfamily: | Vespoidea |
| Family: | Scoliidae |
| Subfamilies | |
The Scoliidae, the scoliid wasps, are a family of about 560 species found worldwide. They tend to be black, often marked with yellow or orange, and their wing tips are distinctively corrugated. Males are more slender and elongated than females, with significantly longer antennae, but the sexual dimorphism is not as apparent as in the Tiphiidae, a closely related family.
Scoliid wasps are solitary parasitoids of scarab beetle larvae. Female scoliids burrow into the ground in search of these larvae and then use their sting to paralyze them. They will sometimes excavate a chamber and move the paralyzed beetle larva into it before depositing an egg. Scoliid wasps act as important biocontrol agents, as many of the beetles they parasitize are pests, including the Japanese beetle. Male scoliids patrol territories, ready to mate with females emerging from the ground. Adult wasps may be minor pollinators of some plants and can he found on many wildflowers in the late summer.
Scoliidae also has at least one species known to engage in pseudocopulation with an orchid. Flowers of the Geoblasta pennicillata orchid in subtropical South America resemble female Campsomeris bistrimacula wasps, tricking males into attempting to mate and, in the process, provide pollination. Scoliids include some of the largest wasps in the world, with only the similarly large tarantula hawk wasps rivaling them in size.
There are about 20 species in North America. Species include:
First Confirmed Case of Pseudocopulation in Terrestrial Orchids of South America
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Wikipedia