Hairy Scoliid Wasp

Scolia hirta

"Scolia hirta" is a species belonging to the family Scoliidae subfamily Scoliinae. It is present in most of mediterranean and central Europe, in East Palearctic ecozone, in the Near East and in North Africa.
Scolia hirta Seen in Late Minoan Armeni cemetery in Crete, Greece. Geotagged,Greece,Scolia hirta,Spring

Appearance

The adults grow up to 10–25 millimetres long, the body is completely black, with two glossy yellow stripes on the adbomen. The wings have a smoky-dark color, with blue reflexes. Males have longer antennae than females, as well as three large spines at the tip of their abdomen.

They can be encountered from July through September feeding on flowers, with a preference for flowers appearing cyan or blue to bees eyes and for composite flowers or aggregated inflorescences.
Scolia hirta Alexandroupoli,Animal,Animalia,Arthropoda,Eastern Macedonia,Europe,Geotagged,Greece,Hymenoptera,Insect,Insecta,Scolia hirta,Scoliidae,Summer,Vespoidea,Wildlife

Naming

*"Scolia hirta" subsp. "hirta"
⤷ "Scolia hirta" subsp. "unifasciata" Cyrillo, 1787
Scoliid wasp - Scolia hirta Animal,Animalia,Arthropoda,Europe,Geotagged,Hymenoptera,Insect,Insecta,Nature,Scolia hirta,Scoliidae,Serbia,Summer,Vespoidea,Wildlife

Behavior

These massive solitary wasps dig in search of larvae of beetles. Then they parasitize the larvae and lay eggs in them for feeding their offspring.

References:

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Taxonomy
KingdomAnimalia
DivisionArthropoda
ClassInsecta
OrderHymenoptera
FamilyScoliidae
GenusScolia
SpeciesS. hirta
Photographed in
Bulgaria
Germany
Greece
Serbia