The mammoth wasp (''Megascolia maculata'') is a species of wasp belonging to the

family Family (from ) is a Social group, group of people related either by consanguinity (by recognized birth) or Affinity (law), affinity (by marriage or other relationship). It forms the basis for social order. Ideally, families offer predictabili ...

Scoliidae The Scoliidae, the scoliid wasps, are a family of wasps comprising about 560 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 ...

in the order

Hymenoptera Hymenoptera is a large order of insects, comprising the sawflies, wasps, bees, and ants. Over 150,000 living species of Hymenoptera have been described, in addition to over 2,000 extinct ones. Many of the species are parasitic. Females typi ...

. It is a

parasitoid In evolutionary ecology, a parasitoid is an organism that lives in close association with its host (biology), host at the host's expense, eventually resulting in the death of the host. Parasitoidism is one of six major evolutionarily stable str ...

on scarab beetles and is found in Europe and Asia and is the largest wasp found in Europe. In central Europe they fly from June to about mid-July.

Description

The mammoth wasp resembles a very large, elongated bumble bee. The female is larger than the male and has a yellow head, the male has a black head. Its body is covered in downy hair and is glossy black in colour with two yellow bands across its abdomen which are sometimes divided to form four yellow spots. Females have shorter antennae than males. The females may reach a length of and the males are smaller than the females. It may be confused with '' Scolia hirta'' which is however smaller, and has a black head.

Distribution

The mammoth wasp occurs in southern Europe as far north as

Belgium Belgium, officially the Kingdom of Belgium, is a country in Northwestern Europe. Situated in a coastal lowland region known as the Low Countries, it is bordered by the Netherlands to the north, Germany to the east, Luxembourg to the southeas ...

, where it was first recorded in 2018, into

Russia Russia, or the Russian Federation, is a country spanning Eastern Europe and North Asia. It is the list of countries and dependencies by area, largest country in the world, and extends across Time in Russia, eleven time zones, sharing Borders ...

, North Africa and the near east. It has been recorded in southern Great Britain but as its prey does not occur in Britain it will be unable to establish there.

Habitat

The mammoth wasp is found in Mediterranean type habitats such as oak forests, maquis and

garrigue Garrigue or garigue ( ), also known as phrygana ( , n. pl.), is a type of low scrubland ecoregion and plant community in the Mediterranean forests, woodlands, and scrub biome. It is found on limestone soils in southern France and around the ...

. It can only occur where its prey, the

European rhinoceros beetle The European rhinoceros beetle (''Oryctes nasicornis'') is a large flying beetle belonging to the subfamily Dynastinae. Subspecies * ''Oryctes nasicornis afghanistanicus'' Endrödi, 1938 * ''Oryctes nasicornis chersonensis'' Minck, 1915 * ''Oryc ...

''Oryctes nasicornis'', is found too and in Russia it has been noted that it is commonest around human habitation where manure piles, sawmills and compost heaps provide habitat for its prey.

Biology

The adult mammoth wasps feed on nectar from flowers. In Malta they have been associated with wild artichoke and ''

Carpobrotus edulis ''Carpobrotus edulis'' is a creeping plant with succulent leaves in the genus '' Carpobrotus'', native to South Africa. Its common names include hottentot-fig, sour fig, ice plant, highway ice plant, or vygie. Description ''Carpobrotus eduli ...

''. The female hunts in dead wood for the grubs of the

which it paralyses by stinging it and then lays a single egg on the larva. The larval wasp consumes the beetle larva apart from its skin. Once the beetle larva had been consumed the wasp larva builds a cocoon and pupates, emerging from the cocoon as an adult in the following spring. Males emerge before females. The European rhinoceros beetle is the primary host for the mammoth wasp but it will also lay eggs on the larvae of other beetles in the

Scarabaeoidea Scarabaeoidea is a superfamily of beetles, the only subgroup of the infraorder Scarabaeiformia. Around 35,000 species are placed in this superfamily and some 200 new species are described each year. Some of its constituent families are undergo ...

including '' Polyphylla fullo'', '' Anoxia orientalis'', the European or greater stag beetle (''

Lucanus cervus ''Lucanus cervus'', known as the European stag beetle, or the greater stag beetle, is one of the best-known species of stag beetle (family Lucanidae) in Western Europe, and is the eponymous example of the genus. ''L. cervus'' is listed as Near T ...

'') and '' Pentodon idiota''.

In culture

It is suggested as the insect model used for the gold " Malia Pendant", a jewel of high quality gold-smithery of the

Minoan The Minoan civilization was a Bronze Age culture which was centered on the island of Crete. Known for its monumental architecture and Minoan art, energetic art, it is often regarded as the first civilization in Europe. The ruins of the Minoan pa ...

times.

Gallery

Larva Megascolia maculata and larva Oryctes nasicornis.JPG, Larval ''Megascolia maculata'' feeding on an ''Oryctes nasicornis'' larva Megascolia maculata2.jpg, ''M. maculata bischoffi'', a subspecies endemic to

Cyprus Cyprus (), officially the Republic of Cyprus, is an island country in the eastern Mediterranean Sea. Situated in West Asia, its cultural identity and geopolitical orientation are overwhelmingly Southeast European. Cyprus is the List of isl ...

Сколія-гігант - красива велика комаха.jpg, Female ''M. maculata maculata'' with rusty red setae on the abdomen

References

External links

''Megascolia maculata flavifrons''
{{Taxonbar, from1=Q148638 Scoliidae Hymenoptera of Europe Insects described in 1773