Dielis trifasciata typically have a body length of 10–15 millimetres (0.39–0.59in),[4] though males of the subspecies D. t. nassauensis can reach up to 19 millimetres (0.75in).[5] The females have yellow bands on the three anterior abdominal segments.[6] These bands are broad in the nominate subspecies, D. t. trifasciata but very narrow in the subspecies D. t. nassauensis. In males, the last three abdominal segments are black, and the scutellum has a single yellow band. The males of D. t. trifasciata are distinguished from allied species in part by the extensively yellow clypeus.[1]
Biology
These parasitic wasps lay eggs on larvae of the scarab Phyllophaga portoricensis.[4] Adult scoliids feed on nectar and possibly pollen.[7]
Distribution
Dielis trifasciata is present in southern Florida, the Bahamas, and in most of the Greater Antilles.[4][1]
↑Krombein, Karl V. (1979). "Scoliidae". In Krombein, Karl V.; Hurd, Paul D. Jr.; Smith, David R.; Burks, B.D. (eds.). Catalog of Hymenoptera in America North of Mexico. Vol.2. Apocrita (Aculeata). Washington, D.C.: Smithsonian Institution Press. p.1316.
12Holm, Heather (2021). "Chapter 10 Scoliidae: Scoliid Wasps". Wasps: Their Biology, Diversity, and Role as Beneficial Insects and Pollinators of Native Plants. Minnetonka, MN: Pollination Press LLC. pp.214–229. ISBN9780991356317.
↑Wolcott, George N. (1948). "Insects of Puerto Rico"(PDF). Journal of Agriculture of the University of Puerto Rico. 32 (4): 855. Retrieved 30 October 2015.
↑Khouri, Z.; Gillung, J.P.; Kimsey, L.S. (2022). "The evolutionary history of mammoth wasps (Hymenoptera: Scoliidae)". bioRxiv10.1101/2022.01.24.474473.
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