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- Blue Flower Wasp
- Scolia soror (Discolia soror ), body length 30mm
- This Blue Flower wasp is shiny dark blue in colour. Its wings are tinted in dark blue colour as well. When flying under sunlight, it reflect the bright blue light. We sometime see them flying and walking among shrubs searching for prey. They lay eggs on scarab beetle grubs in the soil.
- Reference:
- 1. Hairy Flower Wasp Scolia soror - Information Sheet, Museum Victoria, 2001
- Hairy Flower Wasp
- Campsomeris tasmaniensis, male, body length 30mm
- There were a number (more than 10 at a time) of Hairy Flower Wasp flying around in our backyard from May to June 2007. They were flying very close on the lawn and following a circular figure 8 course. We suspected that there could be the females emerging from the ground and the males just waiting for the mating chance there. Detail story can be found in this page.
- Reference:
- 1. Insects of Australia, CSIRO, Division of Entomology, Melbourne University Press, 2nd Edition 1991, pp 978.
- 2. Insects of Australia and New Zealand - R. J. Tillyard, Angus & Robertson, Ltd, Sydney, 1926, p294.
FAMILY SCOLIIDAE - Hairy Flower Wasps
Most members in this family are large wasps, with body length up to 59mm. They are solitary insect, both male and female are winged.
The larvae are ectoparasitoids of the grubs of beetles, usually Scarab Beetles, but rarely Weevils. The females burrow extensively in the soil to locate host grubs. They seems to often utilize the burrows made by the grubs themselves. The females then paralyze the grub and lay eggs on it. Pupation occurs within the cell occupied by the host.
All Australian species are in subfamily Scoliinae.
