Order: Hymenoptera
Family: Scoliidae Latreille, 1802
Family common name: scoliid wasps, flower wasps, mammoth wasps, scarab hawks, scarab hunters
scoliid wasps
Scoliid wasps are solitary parasitoids of scarab beetle larvae. They may be important biocontrol agents, as many of the beetles they prey upon are pests, including the Japanese beetle. This family includes some of the largest known wasps, such as Megascolia procer, with a wingspan of 11.6 cm (4.5 in).
There are about 20 species found in North America.
Distribution of Scoliidae by GBIF: https://www.gbif.org/species/4351
The family Scoliidae contains 560 species of wasp worldwide (Osten 2005).
Scoliid larvae are parasitoids of ground-dwelling scarab beetle larvae. The adult wasps feed on nectar.
Scoliid wasps are solitary parasitoids of scarab beetle larvae. Females burrow into the ground in search of these larvae. They use their sting to paralyze it and then lay an egg on the paralyzed beetle larvae. Male scoliid wasps patrol territories and try to mate with any females emerging from the ground (Hurd 1952).
Campsomeriella annulata and Micromeriella marginella modesta were introduced to control the Japanese beetle in the eastern United States, but neither species became established.