Wasp - Scolia bicincta - BugGuide.Net

Thanks everybody

Thanks, Patrick and Richard, your comments are very valuable. We have to add them to the info page.

… Beatriz Moisset, 22 September, 2007 - 4:28pm

This old-timer female...

is most likely a Scolia bicincta, despite the somewhat special abdominal pattern, more widespread in males of the species. There is some variability in this species too.
Unusual, metallic glee is due to the loss of most of the former pilosity on thorax and head. These wasps hunt for Scarabaeid grubs and rub themselves against all kinds of hart objects during their lengthy underground "prospections".
BTW, the thoracic sclerites make indeed a very solid "armor", as anybody who - like me - has pinned Scolia specimens knows: too thin sizes simply bow instead of piercing the hart cuticle. Only Velvet Ants are worse still in this respect.

… Richard Vernier, 22 September, 2007 - 2:43pm

Unusual thorax

Looks like the breastplate from a suit of armor. See anything that's close to this (as opposed to looking at thorax)? Head is unusual, too.

I originally thought scolid, but don't now. Based on looking at thorax, Parathiphia is a wild guess. We have little here, but check this:

… Ron Hemberger, 22 September, 2007 - 2:29pm

Scoliid--note wings/it is Scolia bicincta

Note how the wings are finely pleated (or wrinkled) towards the tips--this is a characteristic of Scoliidae. I was just fixin' to add a thumbnail showing this to the guide page for that family. Wow, I feel like I am finally getting some handle on hymenopteran families--they are very difficult.

I agree with Richard, I think this is Scolia bicincta--that abdominal pattern varies sometimes, and we have a couple in the guide that look like it:

That one on the left is also from PA. Somebody mentioned that the males may have an extra band.

… Cotinis, 22 September, 2007 - 2:55pm