Scolia maculata

Cute! What kind of camera do you use, if it's not a secret?

Thank you. Sony H5. 7.2 mp camera. But a soap dish, without a removable lens.

Two more arrived today. But the truth is unlike last time very nervous some. It is absolutely impossible to shoot, you will come a little closer take off, buzz. And they are very healthy-scary. Obviously a blooming onion, it's just some kind of delicacy, so much stuff has flown in.

I'll post a couple more photos of her today, it seems from a different angle.

In my opinion, scolias are anatomically transitional insects from bees to wasps, perhaps this is the way of life that predatory ancestors of pchel

In my opinion, scolias are anatomically transitional insects from bees to wasps, perhaps this is the way of life that predatory ancestors of bees led

As I understand it, wasps are a more "ancient" group of hymenoptera than bees. Conversely, bees are more evolutionarily advanced. This is also indicated by their social lifestyle and close connection with flowering plants. At the same time, scolian wasps are ancestral forms for wasps as such (solitary and social), as evidenced by the small number of families. Scoliidae (in terms of species).

Dormidont said it right. Scolias are certainly much older.

No, you didn't understand me,I'm just talking ANATOMICALLY, and not like anything else, they are interesting to me because they anatomically combine the qualities of bees and wasps, and I don't mind what you say, but you will agree that the ancestors of bees could have been when they were predators( and after all, bees came from and so they had to be carnivores anyway and lead such a lifestyle?

No, you didn't understand me,I'm just talking ANATOMICALLY, and not like anything else, they are interesting to me because they anatomically combine the qualities of bees and wasps, and I don't mind what you say, but you will agree that the ancestors of bees could have been when they were predators( and after all, bees came from and so they had to be carnivores anyway and lead such a lifestyle?

I think that if we talk about phylogenetic relationships of insects, it is necessary to take into account all aspects - anatomy, physiology, ethology, species diversity and, if possible, DNA analysis. And about the question: whether bees could lead a predatory lifestyle - so it is well described in the book Malyshev S. I. Formation of hymenoptera and phases of their evolution. - M.; L.: Nauka, 1966. - 302 p. True, the book is old...

- I remember once I had to carry it home in my hands for 4 whole stops... - I run and jump in pain (it stung, not bit 20 times).
- It is interesting that there are individuals with both purple and brown wings...

Scolia maculata (Drury, 1773) from the Crimea.Wingspan 58mm
206-207 female and male-Crimea, Bakhchisarai district, Predushchelnoe village, 8.07.2009
208 female-Crimea, Kerch peninsula, Shchelkino, Mysovoe village, 7.07.2009

Pictures:

206.jpg — (192.88к)


207.jpg — (168.76к)


208.jpg — (192.64к)

As I understand it, wasps are a more "ancient" group of hymenoptera than bees. Conversely, bees are more evolutionarily advanced. This is also indicated by their social lifestyle and close connection with flowering plants. At the same time, scolian wasps are ancestral forms for wasps as such (solitary and social), as evidenced by the small number of families. Scoliidae (in terms of species).

Here is a fragment of A. P. Rasnitsyn's diagram from the book "Origin and Evolution of Hymenopteran Insects". It shows that the relationship between the superfamilies is still unclear, but scolioids and sphecoids probably descended from baissodids independently and simultaneously.

Pictures:

filo_acul_Rasn_part.jpg — (168.75к)

Grebennikov wrote a very interesting article about giant scolias in his book "My World".

In July 2008, I myself caught a male of this species for the first time in our bot garden on the blooming Syrian cotton wool. This is still the most northwestern point of the species ' habitat in the Volga region.