Overview
Female flower wasps dig into soil or rotting wood where they paralyse beetle larvae before depositing an egg. The solitary scoliid larva then develops
ectoparasitically.
Description
This is a moderate-sized family of medium to large wasps (15 35 mm) that can be identified by their robust and densely hairy body; inner margin of eyes emarginate; pronotum with posterior margin U-shaped; latero-posterior pronotum truncate and reaching to the tegula; mid and hind tibiae with stout spines; propodeum tripartite (divided into three areas); and outer fore wing with pseudovenation.
Most species are black, sometimes blue-black, and they often have white or yellow markings.
Sexual dimorphism
is common, with the sexes varying in colour pattern, often making them difficult to associate.
Distribution
Although there are about 300 species worldwide, only about 20 species have been described from Australia, and only one introduced species is present in New Zealand.
Further information about the Scoliidae can be found in Brothers & Finnamore 1993, Finnamore & Hanson 1995 and Naumann 1991.