Scoliidae

Life-forms

Superregnum: Eukaryota
Regnum: Animalia
Subregnum: Eumetazoa
Cladus: Bilateria
Cladus: Nephrozoa
Cladus: Protostomia
Cladus: Ecdysozoa
Cladus: Panarthropoda
Phylum: Arthropoda
Subphylum: Hexapoda
Classis: Insecta
Cladus: Dicondylia
Subclassis: Pterygota
Cladus: Metapterygota
Infraclassis: Neoptera
Cladus: Eumetabola
Cladus: Endopterygota
Superordo: Hymenopterida
Ordo: Hymenoptera
Subordo: Apocrita
Superfamilia: Scolioidea

Familia: Scoliidae
Subfamiliae (2 + 1†): Parascoliinae - Scoliinae - †Archaeoscoliinae

Check: Austroscolia – Discolia – †Sinoproscolia
Name

Scolidae Latreille, 1802

References

Latreille, P.A. 1802. Histoire naturelle, générale et particulière des crustacés et des insectes. Ouvrage faisant suite à l’histoire naturelle générale et particulière, composée par Leclerc de Buffon, et rédigée par C.S. Sonnini, membre de plusieurs sociétés savantes. Familles naturelles des genres. Tome troisième. F. Dufart, Paris, xii + pp. 13–467 + [1 (errata)]. BHL Reference page.
Bradley, J.C.; Betrem, J.G. 1967: The types of the Scoliidae described by Frederick Smith (Hymenoptera): with descriptions of new taxa, and notes on the Oriental localities where Alfred Russel Wallace collected. Bulletin of the British Museum (Natural History), entomology, 20(7): 287–327. BHL
Liu, Z., van Achterberg, C., He, J-H., Chen, X-X. & Chen, H-Y. 2021. Illustrated keys to Scoliidae (Insecta, Hymenoptera, Scolioidea) from China. Zookeys 1025: 139–175. DOI: 10.3897/zookeys.1025.61385 Open access Reference page.
Nel, A.; Escuillié, F.; Garrouste, R. 2013: A new scoliid wasp in the Early Cretaceous Crato Formation in Brazil (Hymenoptera: Scoliidae). Zootaxa 3717(3): 395–400. DOI: 10.11646/zootaxa.3717.3.10 Reference page.

Vernacular names
English: Scoliid wasp
日本語: ツチバチ科
Türkçe: Mahmuzlu arılar

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.

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

Proscolia Rasnitsyn 1977 [6]

Subfamily: Scoliinae
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
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

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.
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.
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.
"Classification and checklist of Afrotropical mammoth wasps". Retrieved 2019-07-18.
"BugGuide - Family Scoliidae". Retrieved 2019-07-18.
"Fauna Europaea".
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.
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.