Scoliidae

Definition

A family of large, robust solitary wasps (Hymenoptera: Scolioidea) comprising roughly 300 described species worldwide. Adults are typically black with yellow or orange markings, possess distinctively corrugated wing tips, and exhibit moderate sexual dimorphism—males are more slender with longer antennae than females. Larvae are ectoparasitoids of scarab beetle larvae (Scarabaeidae), particularly those inhabiting soil or decaying wood.

Etymology

From Scolia (type genus, perhaps from Greek skolios 'bent, oblique' or skolos 'pointed stake, thorn') + -idae (family suffix).

Example

The genus Scolia includes the two-spotted scoliid wasp (Scolia dubia), a common North American species that parasitizes green June beetle (Cotinis nitida) larvae in turfgrass.

Synonyms

• scoliid wasps

Related Terms

• Scolioidea
• Tiphiidae
• Thynnidae
• Scarabaeidae
• ectoparasitoid
• solitary wasp
• Sexual dimorphism

Usage Notes

Scoliidae is treated as a family within the superfamily Scolioidea, though higher-level hymenopteran phylogeny remains under revision. The family is sometimes confused with Tiphiidae and Thynnidae—related scolioid wasps with more pronounced sexual dimorphism. Members are often called 'mammoth wasps' in reference to large-bodied genera such as Megascolia.