Scoliidae

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.

Scoliidae
Black flower wasp (Austroscolia soror), Australia
Scientific classification
Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Arthropoda
Class: Insecta
Order: Hymenoptera
Infraorder: Aculeata
Superfamily: Scolioidea
Family: Scoliidae
Latreille, 1802
Subfamilies

Scoliinae
Proscoliinae

Biology

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 be 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 orchid Bipinnula penicillata in subtropical South America resemble females of Pygodasis bistrimaculata, tricking male wasps into attempting to mate and, in the process, provide pollination.[1] Scoliids include some of the largest wasps in the world, such as Megascolia procer.[2]

Taxonomy

Scoliidae genera are classified as follows:[3][4][5]

Scolia bicincta female, Pennsylvania
Megascolia procer, Indonesia

Subfamily: Proscoliinae
  • Proscolia Rasnitsyn 1977 [6]

Tribe: Campsomerini
  • Aelocampsomeris Bradley 1957
  • Aureimeris Betrem, 1972
  • Australelis Betrem, 1962
  • Campsomeriella Betrem, 1941
  • Campsomeris Lepeletier, 1838
  • Cathimeris Betrem, 1972
  • Charimeris Betrem, 1971
  • Colpa Dufour, 1841
  • Colpacampsomeris Betrem, 1967
  • Crioscolia Bradley, 1951
  • Dasyscolia Bradley, 1951
  • Dielis Saussure & Sichel, 1864
  • Extrameris Betrem, 1972
  • Guigliana Betrem, 1967
  • Laevicampsomeris Betrem, 1933
  • Leomeris Betrem, 1972
  • Lissocampsomeris Bradley, 1957
  • Megacampsomeris Betrem, 1928
  • Megameris Betrem, 1967
  • Micromeriella Betrem, 1972
  • Peltatimeris Betrem, 1972
  • Phalerimeris Betrem, 1967
  • Pseudotrielis Betrem, 1928
  • Pygodasis Bradley, 1957
  • Radumeris Betrem, 1962
  • Rhabdotimeris Bradley, 1957
  • Sericocampsomeris Betrem, 1941
  • Sphenocampsomeris Bradley, 1957
  • Stygocampsomeris Bradley, 1957
  • Tenebromeris Betrem, 1963
  • Trisciloa Gribodo, 1893
  • Tristimeris Betrem, 1967
  • Tubatimeris Betrem, 1972
  • Tureimeris Betrem, 1972
  • Xanthocampsomeris Bradley, 1957

Tribe: Scoliini
  • Austroscolia Betrem, 1927
  • Carinoscolia Betrem, 1927
  • Diliacos Saussure & Sichel, 1864
  • Laeviscolia Betrem, 1928
  • Liacos Guérin-Méneville, 1838
  • Megascolia Betrem, 1928
  • Microscolia Betrem, 1928
  • Mutilloscolia Bradley, 1959
  • Pyrrhoscolia Bradley, 1957
  • Scolia Fabricius 1775
  • Triscolia de Saussure 1863

North American species list
Face of a scoliid wasp in coded color, illustrating the main features:
  ocellar pits
  ocellar furrow
  three simple eyes
  two compound eyes
  vertex, above curved carina frontalis
  frons, below curved carina frontalis and bisected by fissura frontalis
  scrobe
  area frontalis
  clypeus
  anterior margin of clypeus
  mandibles
  antennal scapes
  lamina frontalis
  spatium frontale or frontal space
Adapted from K. V. Krombein (1978)[7]

There are about 20 species in North America north of Mexico.[8] Species include:

  • Campsomeriella annulata (Fabricius 1793) (introduced species, no established population)
  • Micromeriella marginella (Klug 1810) (introduced species, no established population)
  • Colpa octomaculata (Say 1823) – eight-spotted scoliid wasp
  • Colpa pollenifera (Viereck 1906)
  • Crioscolia alcione (Banks 1917) – Halcyon scoliid wasp
  • Crioscolia flammicoma (Bradley 1928)
  • Dielis dorsata (Fabricius 1787) – Caribbean scoliid wasp
  • Dielis pilipes (Saussure 1858) – hairy-footed scoliid wasp
  • Dielis plumipes (Drury 1770) – feather-legged scoliid wasp
  • Dielis tolteca (Saussure 1857) – Toltec scoliid wasp
  • Dielis trifasciata (Fabricius 1793) – three-banded scoliid wasp
  • Pygodasis ephippium (Say 1837) – saddleback scoliid wasp
  • Pygodasis quadrimaculata (Fabricus 1775) – large four-spotted scoliid wasp
  • Scolia bicincta (Fabricius 1775) – double-banded scoliid wasp
  • Scolia dubia (Say 1837) – two-spotted scoliid wasp, blue-winged scoliid wasp
  • Scolia guttata (Burmeister 1853)
  • Scolia mexicana (Saussure 1858)
  • Scolia nobilitata (Fabricius 1805) – noble scoliid wasp
  • Triscolia ardens (Smith 1855) – fire-tailed scoliid wasp
  • Xanthocampsomeris completa (Rohwer 1927)
  • Xanthocampsomeris fulvohirta (Cresson 1865)
  • Xanthocampsomeris hesterae (Rohwer 1921)
  • Xanthocampsomeris limosa (Burmeister 1853)

References
  1. Ciotek, Liliana; Giorgis, Pablo; Benitez-Vieyra, Santiago; Cocucci, Andrea A. (2005). "First Confirmed Case of Pseudocopulation in Terrestrial Orchids of South America". Flora - Morphology, Distribution, Functional Ecology of Plants. 201 (5): 365–369. doi:10.1016/j.flora.2005.07.012.
  2. Sarrazin, Michaël; Vigneron, Jean Pol; Welch, Victoria; Rassart, Marie (2008-11-05). "Nanomorphology of the blue iridescent wings of a giant tropical wasp Megascolia procer javanensis (Hymenoptera)". Physical Review E. 78 (5): 051902. arXiv:0710.2692. doi:10.1103/PhysRevE.78.051902.
  3. Osten, T. (2005). "Checkliste der Dolchwespen der Welt (Insecta: Hymenoptera, Scoliidae). Teil 1: Proscoliinae und Scoliinae: Campsomerini. Teil 2: Scoliinae: Scoliini. Teil 3: Literatur" [Checklist of the Scoliidae of the World. Part 1: Proscoliinae and Scoliinae: Campsomerini. Part 2: Scoliinae: Scoliini. Part 3: Literature] (PDF). Bericht der Naturforschenden Gesellschaft Augsburg (in German). 62 (220–221): 1–62. Retrieved 2014-06-24.
  4. "Classification and checklist of Afrotropical mammoth wasps". Retrieved 2019-07-18.
  5. "BugGuide - Family Scoliidae". Retrieved 2019-07-18.
  6. "Fauna Europaea".
  7. Krombein, Karl V. (1978). "Biosystematic Studies of Ceylonese Wasps, II: A Monograph of the Scoliidae (Hymenoptera: Scolioidea)" (PDF). Smithsonian Contributions to Zoology (283): 6–7. Retrieved 24 September 2021.
  8. Poole, R.W.; Gentili, P. "Hymenoptera" (PDF). Nomina Insecta: A Check List of the Insects of North America Nearctica. 2: 309–375. ISBN 1-889002-02-X. Retrieved 2011-10-10.
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