Hairy flower wasp

Japanese: ツチバチ(土蜂) - ツチバチ（英語表記）hairy flower wasp

A general term for insects belonging to the family Scoliidae in the order Hymenoptera. Many species are large, with dense black or brown hairs on their bodies, and are generally black with white, yellow, orange-yellow, or red spots or stripes. Females fly just above the ground and burrow underground in search of scarab beetle larvae. When they find prey, they sting it with a venomous stinger, anesthetize it, and move it to an appropriate depth, where they lay eggs in a specific part of the victim's abdomen and immobilize it. The larvae feed on scarab beetle larvae, and when they mature they spin cocoons and become pupae. Small, black Tiphiidae wasps are closely related to the Scoliidae and, like ground wasps, parasitize scarab beetle larvae.

Source: Heibonsha World Encyclopedia, 2nd Edition Information

Japanese:

膜翅目ツチバチ科Scoliidaeに属する昆虫の総称。大型の種類が多く，体には黒色や褐色の毛を密生し，全体に黒色で，白色，黄色，橙黄色，赤色などの斑紋や帯紋がある。雌は地表すれすれに飛び，コガネムシ類の幼虫を求めて地中に潜る。獲物をさがしあてると毒針で刺し，麻酔して，適当な深さのところに移し，獲物の腹面の一定の部位に産卵し固定する。幼虫はコガネムシの幼虫を食べ，老熟すると繭をつくりさなぎになる。ツチバチ科に近縁で，小型で黒いコツチバチ科Tiphiidaeのハチは，ツチバチと同じくコガネムシ類の幼虫に寄生する。

出典　株式会社平凡社世界大百科事典第２版について　情報

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