Giant scolia [2] , or spotted scolia [3] ( lat. Megascolia maculata = lat. Scolia maculata ) is a species of large wasps from the family of chines . The largest representative of the family and the entire order of Hymenoptera in the fauna of Europe. It is included in the Red Books of Ukraine [4] and the Voronezh region. [five]
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| Megascolia maculata ( Drury , 1773) | ||||||||||||||||||
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Content
Description
Large hymenopteran insect . The body length of females reaches 32–55 mm, males - 26–32 mm in length. The main body color background is black. The wings are wide, yellowish-brown in color, with a bright purple tint. Their length is slightly less than the length of the abdomen. The anterior part of the pronotum, as well as 4-6 segments of the abdomen, are covered with bright red hairs. The rest of the body is covered with rare but long black hairs. The second and third abdominal tergites bear two round yellow spots, not covered with hairs. The same yellow spot, but smaller in size, is located on the scutellum. The head of this type of scoli is rounded, not covered with hairs, bright orange, shiny. Nape of black color, matte. The eyes are wide apart, small simple eyes form a triangle. Antenna located in the lower part of the forehead and curved. Females have shorter antennae than males [6] .
Range
Locally widespread stenobiont look. The species lives on the territory of North Africa, southern Europe, Turkey , the Middle East, Central Asia , and the Crimea . On the territory of Russia, the giant scolium inhabits the south of the European part and the Caucasus . In the mountains, the view rises to an altitude of 1150 m above sea level.
The giant scolia populates almost all forest and steppe biocenoses , as well as agrocenoses and urban landscapes, in which large lamellar beetles are found that are owners of scoli larvae, mainly the common rhinoceros beetle . The distribution of the giant scoli coincides with that of the rhinoceros beetle only in the southern regions of Europe .
Biology
By way of life, larvae parasitize on the larvae of large lamellar beetles . The main owners of the giant scoli larvae are the rhinoceros beetle larvae, as well as, probably, the genus Melolontha and the marble chafer .
Adults fly from late May to early June. They feed on various flowering plants of the families Asteraceae , Liliaceae and others. Fertilized females often burrow into the soil, where they make passages and look for larvae of host beetles. Finding them, the female paralyzes the larva with a sting injection in the thoracic nerve ganglion, after which it lays one egg. The larva of the giant scoli eats the larva of the host beetle, eating it completely, and then weaves a light cocoon and hibernates. Pupation in the spring.
Subspecies
Three subspecies are distinguished in the form: [1]
- Megascolia maculata bischoffi (Micha, 1927)
- Megascolia maculata flavifrons (Fabricius, 1775)
- Megascolia maculata maculata (Drury, 1773)
Notes
- ↑ 1 2 BioLib Profil taxonu druh žahalka obrovská Megascolia maculata (Drury, 1773) (Czech)
- ↑ Striganova B.R. , Zakharov A.A. The Bilingual Dictionary of Animal Names: Insects (Latin-Russian-English-German-French) /Ed. Dr. biol. sciences, prof. B.R. Striganova . - M .: RUSSO, 2000 .-- S. 292. - 1060 copies. - ISBN 5-88721-162-8 .
- ↑ M.N. Tsurikov The first findings of the giant scoli Megascolia maculata (Drury, 1773) (Hymenoptera: Scoliidae) for the territory of the Lipetsk region. Eversmania. Issue 34 (2013)
- ↑ Skoliya gigant Scolia maculata Drury, 1773 Archived on May 5, 2017.
- ↑ RESOLUTION of the Administration of the Voronezh region. dated 01.07.2008 N 561 “On the Red Book of the Voronezh Region” (together with the “Regulations on the Red Book of the Voronezh Region”)
- ↑ Mammoth wasp Megascolia maculata . Project Noah. Date of treatment May 21, 2017.
Literature
- Nikitsky N. B., Sviridov A. V. Take care of nature: Insects of the Red Book of the USSR. - M .: Pedagogy, 1987 .-- 176 p. - 180,000 copies.