Toltec scoliid wasp | |
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Female in Contra Costa County, California feeding on naked buckwheat | |
Male in Los Angeles County, California, feeding on Gaillardia | |
Scientific classification | |
Domain: | Eukaryota |
Kingdom: | Animalia |
Phylum: | Arthropoda |
Class: | Insecta |
Order: | Hymenoptera |
Family: | Scoliidae |
Genus: | Dielis |
Species: | D. tolteca |
Binomial name | |
Dielis tolteca (Sassure, 1857) | |
Synonyms [1] [2] | |
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Dielis tolteca, the Toltec scoliid wasp, is a species of hymenopteran in the family Scoliidae. It is commonly found on plants in the genus Solidago . [1]
Female D. tolteca have extensive orange on at least three tergites of the gaster. The first segment is variable from a complete band to no band at all, and every possible degree in between. The only other orange-marked ally, D. dorsata , has the orange restricted to the second and third tergites of the gaster. [3]
Male D. tolteca have four pale yellow bands on both the tergites and sternites of the gaster and a yellow band on the pronotum. As with the females, the most similar species is D. dorsata, which has sparser setae on the external valve of the penis and lacks banding on the sternites. The males further share the paler markings with D. plumipes , a species that is sympatric in Texas and which has the clypeus and pronotum entirely black. Another ally, D. pilipes , has a fifth band on the abdomen (only shared with D. tejensis [4] ) and is structurally distinct from all other members of the genus by the microstructuring on the frons, propodeum, mesonotum, and hind tibiae. [3]
D. tolteca is mainly found in the Southwestern United States and Mexico but also occurs in Haiti. [5]
The Scoliidae, the scoliid wasps, are a family of wasps comprising about 560 species worldwide. They tend to be black, often marked with yellow or orange, and their wing tips are distinctively corrugated. Males are more slender and elongated than females, with significantly longer antennae, but the sexual dimorphism is not as apparent as in many of the Tiphiidae and Thynnidae.
Vespoidea is a superfamily of wasps in the order Hymenoptera. Vespoidea includes wasps with a large variety of lifestyles including eusocial, social, and solitary habits, predators, scavengers, parasitoids, and some herbivores.
Megascolia procer, the giant scoliid wasp, is a solitary wasp in the family Scoliidae found across Asia. It is one of the largest wasps in the world, with a wingspan of 11.6 cm (4.6 in).
Scolia dubia, also known as the two-spotted scoliid wasp or a blue-winged scoliid wasp, is a species in the family Scoliidae.
Austroscolia soror is a species of scoliid wasp and a common insect found in eastern Australia. This is one of several Australian species collectively referred to as a blue flower wasp, black flower wasp, or blue hairy flower wasp.
Polistes apachus is a social wasp native to western North America. It is known in English by the common name Texas paper wasp, or southwestern Texas paper wasp. It has also been called the Apache wasp, perhaps first by Simmons et al. in California in 1948. Simmons et al. reported how in California P. apachus is often found in fig orchards where it is considered a pest species due to its aggressive attacks and painful stings on farm labourers during harvest time in September and October. It may sometimes also be found in other types of orchards or in vineyards, but in California it is also commonly found to establish nests in or on houses in urban areas in attics or under the eaves of buildings. It is a type of paper wasp, which is the common name for a type of wasp that uses a papery material to construct its nests.
Dielis trifasciata, also known as the three-banded scoliid wasp, is a species in the family Scoliidae.
Brachycistidinae is a subfamily of the flower wasp family Tiphiidae that contains 10 genera and 85 species, and which is confined to the Nearctic zoogeographic region.
Sapyga louisi is a species of a club-horned wasp in the family – Sapygidae. Adults feed from flowers and the larvae are kleptoparasites of leaf cutter bee larvae, including those of Heriades carinata.
Dielis is a New World genus of the family Scoliidae, also known as the scoliid wasps, formerly treated as a subgenus within Campsomeris.
Pygodasis is a New World genus of wasps in the family Scoliidae, formerly treated as a subgenus within Campsomeris.
Xanthocampsomeris is a New World genus of the family Scoliidae, also known as the scoliid wasps, formerly treated as a subgenus within Campsomeris.
Campsomerini is a cosmopolitan tribe of the family Scoliidae. An older, alternative representation of this group is as a subfamily, Campsomerinae.
Austroscolia is a genus of wasps belonging to the family Scoliidae, subfamily Scoliinae. It was formerly classified as a subgenus of Scolia.
Pyrrhoscolia is a genus of scoliid wasps in the subfamily Scoliinae. It is native to the Afrotropics, where they have been recorded in various Afromontane regions. They are external parasitoids of beetle larvae. The wings of all three species are noted for their brilliant lustre.
Dielis plumipes, the feather-legged scoliid wasp, is a species of scoliid wasp in the family Scoliidae.
Dielis dorsata, the Caribbean scoliid wasp, is a species of scoliid wasp in the family Scoliidae.
Triscolia ardens is a species of wasp in the family Scoliidae. It is the sole member of its genus found in North America outside of Mexico.
Dielis tejensis is a species of scoliid wasp. It is endemic to Texas.
Colpa is a genus of scoliid wasp.