Megascolia procer
| Megascolia procer | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Megascolia procer. Male. ex coll. Felix Stumpe | |
| Scientific classification | |
| Kingdom: | Animalia |
| Phylum: | Arthropoda |
| Class: | Insecta |
| Order: | Hymenoptera |
| Family: | Scoliidae |
| Genus: | Megascolia Betrem 1928 |
| Species: | M. procer |
| Binomial name | |
| Megascolia procer (Illiger, 1908) | |
Megascolia procer (the Giant Scoliid Wasp) is a solitary wasp in the family Scoliidae. Found in the Indonesian islands of Sumatra and Java, it is one of the largest wasps in the world, with a wingspan of 11.5 cm.[1]
Distribution
There are subspecies in Sumatra and Java.[2]
Parasitoid
The Atlas beetle, Chalcosoma atlas (male shown), is the host for M. procera.
The species is a parasitoid of the scarabeid Atlas beetle Chalcosoma atlas; its venom has a paralytic effect.[3]
Structural coloration
The wings of this large tropical wasp are structurally coloured, making them iridescent. The wing is made of chitin, made dark with melanin, covered with a transparent overlayer 286 nm thick that acts as an interference thin film.[4]
Female - MHNT
References
- ↑ Sarrazin, Michael; Vigneron, Jean Pol; Welch, Victoria; Rassart, Marie (5 November 2008). "Nanomorphology of the blue iridescent wings of a giant tropical wasp Megascolia procer javanensis (Hymenoptera)". Phys. Rev. E 78 (5). doi:10.1103/PhysRevE.78.051902. Measurement scale on Figure 1.
- ↑ Betrem, J. G.; Bradley, J. Chester (1964). "Annotations on the genera Triscolia, Megascolia and Scolia (Hymenoptera, Scoliidae)". Zoologische Mededelingen. 39 (43): 433–444.
- ↑ Piek, Tom (22 October 2013). Venoms of the Hymenoptera: Biochemical, Pharmacological and Behavioural Aspects. Elsevier. p. 173. ISBN 978-1-4832-6370-0.
- ↑ Simonis, Priscilla; Berthier, Serge. "How Nature Produces Blue Color" (PDF). University Pierre et Marie Curie, Paris. Retrieved 14 June 2015.
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