Scoliidae

Scoliidae
male Colpa sexmaculata, Portugal
Scientific classification
Kingdom:	Animalia
Phylum:	Arthropoda
Class:	Insecta
Order:	Hymenoptera
Superfamily:	Vespoidea
Family:	Scoliidae
Subfamilies
Scoliinae Proscoliinae

Scoliidae, the scoliid wasps, is a small family represented by 6 genera and about 20 species in North America, but they occur worldwide, with a total of around 300 species. They tend to be black, often marked with yellow or orange, and their wing tips are distinctively corrugated. Males are more slender and elongate than females, with longer antennae, but the sexual dimorphism is not as extreme as is common in the Tiphiidae, a closely related family.

Scoliid wasp larvae act as important biocontrol agents, feeding upon beetle larvae in the ground, including the serious pest, the Japanese beetle. Adult wasps may be minor pollinators of many wildflowers.

North American species list

• Campsomeriella annulata (Fabricius 1793)
• Campsomeris completa (Rohwer 1927)
• Campsomeris ephippium (Say 1837)
• Campsomeris fulvohirta (Cresson 1865)
• Campsomeris limos (Burmeister 1853)
• Campsomeris pilipes (Saussure 1858)
• Campsomeris plumipes (Drury 1770)
• Campsomeris quadrimaculata (Fabricus 1775)
• Campsomeris tolteca (Saussure 1857)
• Campsomeris trifasciata (Fabricius 1793)
• Crioscolia alcione (Banks 1917)
• Crioscolia flammicoma (Bradley 1928)
• Micromeriella marginella (Klug 1810)
• Scolia bicincta - Double-banded Scoliid (Fabricius 1775)
• Scolia bifasciata (Swederus 1787)
• Scolia consors(Saussure 1863)
• Scolia dubia - Blue-winged Wasp (Say 1837)
• Scolia guttata (Burmeister 1853)
• Scolia mexicana (Saussure 1858)
• Scolia nobilitata (Fabricius 1805)
• Trielis octomaculata (Say 1823)
• Trielis pollenifera (Viereck 1906)
• Triscolia ardens (Smith 1855)

Scolia soror

Scolia soror, Black Flower Wasp, Australia

Scoliidae are popular with collectors the large Megascolia procer being an example.

External links

• Scoliid wasps of Florida on the UF / IFAS Featured Creatures Web site