Austroscolia soror

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Austroscolia soror
Austroscolia-soror-314466.jpg
A. soror female
Scientific classification OOjs UI icon edit-ltr.svg
Domain: Eukaryota
Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Arthropoda
Class: Insecta
Order: Hymenoptera
Family: Scoliidae
Genus: Austroscolia
Species:
A. soror
Binomial name
Austroscolia soror
(Smith, 1855)
Synonyms [1]
  • Scolia viridipennisSmith, 1855
  • Discolia soror(Smith, 1855)
  • Scolia sororSmith, 1855
  • Scolia cyanipennisLepeletier, 1845

Austroscolia soror is a species of scoliid wasp and a common insect found in eastern Australia. [1] This is one of several Australian species collectively referred to as a blue flower wasp, black flower wasp, or blue hairy flower wasp.

Contents

Distribution

A. soror occurs in coastal areas from Queensland south to Victoria. [1]

Description and identification

A. soror is a very large scoliid wasp reaching up to 3 cm long. The body is black, and the wings are smoky with a blue iridescence. [2] This colour scheme is shared by several other Australian scoliids. The setae of A. soror are entirely black, and the second sternite is non-tuberculate. [3] As a member of Austroscolia, the wings have a single recurrent vein and three submarginal cells. [4]

Distinguishing this species requires close and thorough inspection of specimens. The allied and mostly sympatric A. nitida varifrons has denser punctures on the pronotum, mesothorax, and gaster. [5] A. commixta of the Northern Territory, known only from the male, has a tuberculate second sternite and has shorter antennae. Another common species, Australelis anthracina , has two recurrent veins and white setae. [6] While most females and southwestern males of that species are entirely black, males in the east have a single pair of yellow to orange spots on the third segment of the gaster. [3]

Biology

Adults feed on nectar. The female lays her eggs on beetle larvae.

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References

  1. 1 2 3 Elliott, Michael G.; Stringer, Danielle; Jennings, John; Austin, Andrew D. (2012). "Checklist of Australian scoliid wasps". Australian Biological Resources Study. Retrieved 21 January 2020.
  2. ↑ Child, John (1976). Australian Insects. Sydney: Periwinkle Books. p. 79. ISBN   0701806311.
  3. 1 2 Turner, Rowland E. (1909). "Revision of the Australian Species of the Genus Scolia". The Annals and Magazine of Natural History. 4 (21): 165–176. doi:10.1080/00222930908692655.
  4. ↑ Liu, Zhen; Van Achterberg, Cornelis; He, Jun-Hua; Chen, Xue-Xin; Chen, Hua-Yan (2021). "Illustrated keys to Scoliidae (Insecta, Hymenoptera, Scolioidea) from China". ZooKeys (1025): 139–175. Bibcode:2021ZooK.1025..139L. doi: 10.3897/zookeys.1025.61385 . PMC   8007554 . PMID   33814948.
  5. ↑ Cameron, Peter (1906). "On the Malay fossorial Hymenoptera and Vespidae of the Museum of the R. Zool. Soc. Natura artis magistra at Amsterdam". Tijdschrift voor Entomologie. 48: 54–55. Retrieved 2024-02-19.
  6. ↑ Betrem, Johan George (1928). "Monographie der indo-australischen scoliiden mit zoogeographischen betrachtungen". Treubia. 9 Supplemental: 1-388. Retrieved 2024-02-19.
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