Stats

Lifespan

A few months

Size

Medium

Diet

Insectivore

Activity

Diurnal

Social

Solitary

Biome

Temperate grassland

Range

North America

Movement

Flight

Breeding

Egg-laying

Defense

Venom

Status

Common

About

The Blue-winged Scoliid Wasp is a stout, hairy black wasp with smoky blue-black wings and two bright orange-red bands across its abdomen. Females burrow into soil to hunt and paralyze June beetle grubs, laying a single egg on each one to feed their larva.

Life cycle

1. 1.
   egg

   A small egg is laid on or near the larval food source and hatches within days or weeks.
2. 2.
   juvenile

   An immature insect feeds and molts, growing through successive instars.
3. 3.
   subadult

   A near-adult insect has wing buds or near-mature form, one molt away from full size.
4. 4.
   adult

   Fully grown, with full wings and adult coloration.

Learn more

• View on iNaturalist →

Taxonomy

Kingdom

Animalia

Phylum

Arthropoda

Class

Insecta

Order

Hymenoptera

Family

Scoliidae

Genus

Scolia

Species

Scolia dubia