Scoliidae

Scoliidae, the scoliid wasps, is a family of wasps comprising about 300 described 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.

== Biology == Scoliid wasps are solitary parasitoids of larvae, most frequently those of the scarab beetle. Female scoliids burrow into the ground or into rotting wood, in search of these larvae and then use their sting to paralyze them. When locating hosts, they may burrow through the soil or follow tunnels already created by scarab larvae. The females are often observed flying close to the ground while searching for scarab larvae in the soil and they sometimes excavate a chamber and move the paralyzed beetle larva into it before depositing an egg. The female lays a single egg on the paralysed grub, often attached transversely to one of the larva's abdominal segments. Scoliid wasps act as important biocontrol agents, as many of the beetles they parasitize are pests, including the Japanese beetle. Male scoliids patrol territories, ready to mate with females emerging from the ground. Adult wasps may be minor pollinators of some plants and can be found on many wildflowers in the late summer.