Megascolia procer
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Megascolia procer, the giant scoliid wasp, is a solitary wasp in the family Scoliidae found across Asia. It is one of the largest wasps in the world, with a wingspan of Template:Cvt.[1]
Description
M. procer is a large tropical wasp with a body length of Template:Cvt.[1] The body is primarily black with yellowish markings on the front and vertex of the head, pronotum, scutellum, metanotum, medial spot on the first gastral tergite, and a pair of anterolateral spots on the third gastal tergite. The wings are brown with blue iridescent reflections.[2] This structural coloration is because the wing is made of chitin, made dark with melanin, and covered with a transparent overlayer Template:Cvt thick that acts as an interference thin film.[3]
Distribution
The nominate subspecies has a broad range across the continent of Asia, including records in Indonesia, Malaysia, Singapore, Malaya, Thailand, Myanmar, and India.[2] There are also subspecies found in Sumatra, Java, and Borneo.[4][5][6]
Life cycle
The species is a parasitoid of the scarabaeid Atlas beetle, Chalcosoma atlas. The wasp paralyzes a beetle grub with its sting, then lays an egg on it and buries it in an underground cell. When the wasp larva hatches, it consumes its still-living host before pupating inside its remains.[7]
Subspecies
There are four subspecies of M. procer:[2][8]
- Megascolia procer procer (Illiger, 1802)
- Megascolia procer bimaculata (Gribodo, 1893)
- Megascolia procer javanensis Betrem, 1964
- Megascolia procer nigriventris (Mantero, 1903)
See also
References
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