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Scoliidae

(Family)

Overview

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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.

Scolia soror
Scolia soror, Black Flower Wasp, Australia

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

Reference

External links

Taxonomy

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The Family Scoliidae is a member of the Superfamily Vespoidea. Here is the complete "parentage" of Scoliidae:

The Family Scoliidae is further organized into finer groupings including:

Genera

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Campsomeriella

[more]

Campsomeris

[more]

Carinoscolia

[more]

Colpa

Crioscolia

Dasyscolia

Elis

Liacos

Megacampsomeris

Megascolia

Micromeriella

Proscolia

Radumeris

Scolia

A Genus in the Kingdom Animalia.[1] [more]

Triscolia

[more]

More info about the Genus Triscolia may be found here.

Footnotes

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  1. http://bugguide.net/index.php?q=search&keys=Scolia&search=Search

Sources

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Last Revised: August 24, 2012
2012/08/24 13:42:46