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Species Scolia dubia
Classification Kingdom Animalia (Animals)
Phylum Arthropoda (Arthropods)
Class Insecta (Insects)
Order Hymenoptera (Ants, Bees, Wasps and Sawflies)
No Taxon (Aculeata - Bees, Ants, and other Stinging Wasps)
Superfamily Vespoidea (Ants, Stinging Wasps, and Hornets)
Family Scoliidae (Scoliid Wasps)
Genus Scolia
Species dubia (Scolia dubia)
Other Common Names Digger Wasp, Blue-winged Wasp Identification Black with orange abdomen, two large yellow spots.
The larva is a legless, white grub with a brown head. It appears hairless and has no eyes. The antennae, maxillary and labial palps are one-segmented. There is a slit-like silk gland on the labium.
Males have longer antennae than females, and a pronglike pseudostinger on the abdomen. Range Massachusetts to Florida, west to Colorado, Arizona, California. Season Summer, early fall. June-October (North Carolina). Food Adults take nectar, may also feed on juices from beetle prey.
Larvae a parasite of the green June beetle and Japanese beetle. Life Cycle Males and females have a courtship dance, flying close to the ground in a figure-8 or S pattern. Females burrow into ground in search of grubs, especially those of the Green June Beetle, Cotinis, and the Japanese Beetle. She stings it and often burrows farther down, then constructs a cell and lays an egg on the host. Larva pupates and overwinters in a cocoon within the body of the host. One generation per year in North, more in South. Remarks Males have a three pronged "pseudostinger," which is part of their external genitalia. Print References Swan and Papp, p. 548, fig. 1192 (1)
Milne, p. 820, fig. 457 (2)
Salsbury, p. 266--photo (3)
Borror and White, p. 343, have an illustration of what is apparently this species. (4)
Arnett, p. 580, describes, gives distribution. (6)Internet References North Carolina State University Gives a common name as "blue-winged wasp", describes life history.
Univ. Florida--Entomology 3005, family description, with photo of S. dubia. Works Cited | 1. | The Common Insects of North America
By Lester A. Swan, Charles S. Papp | |
| 4. | A Field Guide to Insects
By Richard E. White, Donald J. Borror, Roger Tory Peterson |  |
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