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Scoliini

Mammoth wasps of the Afrotropical region

(Life: Kingdom: Metazoa (animals); Phylum: Arthropoda; Class: Hexapoda; Order: Hymenoptera; Superfamily: Scolioidea; Family: Scoliidae; Subfamily: Scoliinae)

Classification

The traditional classification of Betrem & Bradley (1964) is followed here rather than the work of Argaman (1996), which is likely to have artificially over-split the family at generic level. The proposal by Golfetti et al. (2025) to restrict Scolia subgenus Discolia to New World species and to place all Old World Scolia in subgenus Scolia has also not been followed here. See discussion in Taylor (2026) for an overview of the current arbitrary classification that Scoliidae resides in - a major revision of the family is required to establish stability.

Austroscolia Betrem, 1928

  Diliacos Saussure & Sichel, 1864
  Laeviscolia Betrem, 1928

Liacos Guérin-Méneville, 1838

  Megascolia Betrem, 1928
 

Microscolia Betrem, 1928

 

Mutilloscolia Bradley, 1959

Pyrrhoscolia Bradley, 1957

Scolia Fabricius, 1775

  Triscolia de Saussure 1863

Distribution

Worldwide.

Biology

External parasitoids of beetle larvae (mostly Scarabaeidae) that live in soil or decaying vegetable matter.

References

Argaman Q. 1996. Generic synopsis of Scoliidae (Hymenoptera, Scolioidea). Annales Historico-Naturales Musei Nationalis Hungarici 88: 171-222.

Betrem, J.G. & Bradley, J.C. 1964. Annotations on the Genera Triscolia, Megascolia and Scolia (Hymenoptera, Scoliidae). Zoologische Mededelingen 39: 433-444.

Betrem, J.G. & Bradley, J.C. 1964. Annotations on the Genera Triscolia, Megascolia and Scolia (Hymenoptera, Scoliidae) (second part). Zoologische Mededelingen 40: 89-96.

Betrem, J.G. & Bradley, J.C. 1972. The African Campsomerinae (Hymenoptera, Scoliidae). Monografieën van de Nederlandse Entomologische Vereniging 6: 1-326.

Bradley, J.C. 1936. Four new species of Campsomeris (Hym. Scoliidae) from the Malagasy subregion. Proceedings of the Royal Entomological Society of London. Series B, Taxonomy 5: 12-17. https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1365-3113.1936.tb01304.x

Bradley, J.C. 1959. The Scoliidae of Africa. Annals of the Transvaal Museum 23: 331-362.

Brothers, D.J. & Finnamore A.T. 1993. Superfamily Vespoidea (pp. 161-278). In GOULET, H. & HUBER, J. (eds). Hymenoptera of the World: an identification guide to families. Research Branch, Agriculture Canada, Ottawa, Canada, 668 pp.

Day, M.C., Else, G.R. & Morgan, D. 1981. The most primitive scoliidae (Hymenoptera). Journal of Natural History 15: 671–684.

Dollfuss, H. 1990. Aculeate Hymenoptera collected 1985 in the Republic of Central Africa (Sphecidae, Eumenidae, Vespidae, Pompilidae, Chrysididae and Scoliidae). Zeitschrift der Arbeitsgemeinschaft Österreichischer Entomologen 42(3/4): 121–124.

Gess, S.K. & Gess, F.W. 2014. Wasps and bees in southern Africa. SANBI Biodiversity Series 24. South African National Biodiversity Institute, Pretoria. 320 pp.

Golfetti, I.F., da Silva, M., Dos Santos, E.F. & Noll, F.B. 2025. Phylogenetic analysis and biogeography of Scolia (Hymenoptera, Scoliidae, Scoliinae): implications for the classification and origin of Scoliini. Cladistics 41: 304–321.

Guérin-Méneville, F.É., 1838. Histoire Naturelle des Crustacés, Arachnides et Insectes, recueillis dans le voyage autour du Monde de la Corvette de S.M. la Coquille, exécuté pendant les anées 1822–1825 sous le commandement du capitaine Duperry. In Voyage Autour du Monde, exécuté par ordre du Roi, sur la corvette de S.M. la Coquille, pendant les anées 1822–1825. Zoologie, L.I. Duperrey, pp. 57–302. Paris: Arthus Bertrand. Vol. 2. 319 pp.

Guiglia, D. 1957. Sopra alcuni Scoliidei africani del museo del Congo Belga (Hymenoptera: Scoliidae). Revue de Zoologie et de Botanique Africaines 56: 253-262.

Osten, T. 2005. Checkliste der Dolchwespen der Welt (Insecta: Hymenoptera, Scoliidae). Teil 1: Proscoliinae und Scoliinae: Campsomerini. Teil 2: Scoliinae: Scoliini. Teil 3: Literatur. Bericht der Naturforschenden Gesellschaft Augsburg 62 (220–221): 1–62.

Taylor, C.K. 2024. Annotated checklist of family- and genus-group names associated with Scoliidae (Hymenoptera, Aculeata). Journal of Hymenoptera Research 97: 945–1006. https://doi.org/10.3897/jhr.97.134123

Taylor CK. 2026. An updated and annotated checklist of the hairy flower wasps (Hymenoptera: Scoliidae) of the world. Zootaxa 5880: 1–346. https://doi.org/10.11646/zootaxa.5880.1.1

Credits

Photographs © Simon van Noort (Iziko Museums of South Africa).

Map illustration © Simon van Noort (Iziko Museums of South Africa).


Web author Simon van Noort (Iziko South African Museum)

 

Citation: van Noort, S. 2026. WaspWeb: Hymenoptera of the World. URL: www.waspweb.org (accessed on <day/month/year>).

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