Pyrrhoscolia Explained

Pyrrhoscolia is a genus of scoliid wasps in the subfamily Scoliinae. It is native to the Afrotropics, where they have been recorded in various Afromontane regions. They are external parasitoids of beetle larvae.[1] The wings of all three species are noted for their brilliant lustre.[2]

Description

thumb|left|Horizontal lobes of the propodeumThe body and its vestiture are black, apart from the apical segments of the abdomen which are bright reddish in both sexes (3 segments in females, 4 in males). Two species of Scolia are similarly coloured, but have swarthy wings and a red spot in each ocular sinus (or sini oculares, the "bays" bordered by the kidney-shaped eyes). In males, unlike Scolia, the propodeum has two distinct horizontal lobes, which project well behind the insertion of the petiole.[2]

The forewings lack the second recurrent vein and third submarginal cell in both sexes. The wings are closely striolate apically, as with the Scoliidae generally, and feature strong blue, blue-green or golden-green effulgence.[2] The eyes are deeply notched, as with the family generally.[3] On the faces of females the front and frontal space (or spatium frontale, located between the antennae[4] [5]) are separated by a distinct furrow, though not so in males. The male genitalia are distinctive.[2]

Species

Three species belong to the genus Pyrrhoscolia:[1]

Notes and References

  1. Web site: van Noort . Simon . Pyrrhoscolia Bradley . WaspWeb . Iziko South African Museum . 20 September 2021.
  2. Bradley . J. Chester . The Scoliidae of Africa, Part II. The genus Scolia with the exception of its typical subgenus . Annals of the Transvaal Museum . February 1959 . 23 . 4 . 340–362 . 10.10520/AJA00411752_343 . 24 September 2021.
  3. Book: Scholtz . Clarke H. . Holm . Erik . Insects of Southern Africa . 1985 . Butterworths . Durban . 0409-10487-6 . 428 . etal.
  4. Web site: Bradley . J. Chester . The most primitive "Scoliidae" . 1950 . EOS, Revista Española de Entomologia: Bo. Paper 130 . Ithaca, N.Y. . 24 September 2021 . 437-437.
  5. Krombein . Karl V. . Biosystematic Studies of Ceylonese Wasps, II: A Monograph of the Scoliidae (Hymenoptera: Scolioidea) . Smithsonian Contributions to Zoology . 1978 . 283 . 1–56 . 24 September 2021.