All wasps belong to the suborder of Hymenoptera stinging insects. We often see them in personal plots and try to avoid close contact. After all, I don’t want to be stung! Now imagine a giant wasp circling above you. Of course, their size is not from the eagle, but still they are larger than their relatives.
Judge for yourself, the length of a regular wasp reaches 10 millimeters, the wingspan is about 20 mm. The wasp skoliya is gigantic compared to her! The size of her body ranges from 30 to 100 millimeters, the amplitude of the wings in flight is fixed from 30 to 60 millimeters.
Habitats for large wasps are land with a tropical and subtropical climate. In the Russian Federation, there are approximately 25 species of these insects.
Description
Giant wasps are usually black and yellow. The female has a dark abdomen, which is as if dragged by transverse yellow plaques. Her wings are reflected in the soft color of the onion peel with a pearly sheen. The female is usually larger and more aggressive than the male.
Chippings are considered predatory insects, and it is always interesting to observe them. They begin their hunt by choosing a victim. As it can be rhinoceros beetles, bronzes, wood flies.
Having chosen the most successful moment, giant wasps sting their prey in the abdominal nerve center. The victim is unable to move. After all, the sting of insects, like a sophisticated surgical instrument, paralyzes the motor activity of prey. Then the wasp-scolia quietly lays an egg in the abdomen of prey. What happens afterwards?
The next step
Soon, the hatched larva begins to eat the insides of the beetle. This lasts approximately 2 weeks. As a result, only a peel remains from it. Then it's time to weave a cocoon. It is curious that the little scoliosis correctly distributes all the threads. The whole process takes about a day.
The result is a cocoon in the form of an ellipse. Moreover, if the female was weaving, then its length is about 26 millimeters. In males, it is shorter - 17-18 millimeters. In this cocoon, the larvae spend the winter period. In spring, adult individuals appear who go outside in search of food and reproduction. Giant wasps gladly absorb flower nectar.
In parallel, mating occurs in adults. Not much time is devoted to love games. After mating, the female individual carefully digs a kind of mink for future prey. There are no corridors, entrances or exits. After all, a female-scolia chooses a place for a mink, which does not happen to be someone. When the wasp comes out, the hole closes with lumps of earth. During the summer, the uterus is laying eggs and preparing food for the larvae.
These insects live in Central Asia, Crimea, North Africa and the southern regions of Russia. Giant wasps in the suburbs are a rare occurrence. Most likely, it may be due to the fact that some fan of exotic animals brought the winged ones. In this case, wasps can exist only in the conditions created for them. Indeed, the cold soil of Moscow land is harmful to the larvae. Skolii, like other species of large wasps, are listed in the Red Book.
Giant wasps of Siberia
Hornet is another major representative of this genus. It stands out for its wasp waist, thin transparent wings and a powerful jaw. These insects have the brightest color. In addition to yellow and black, they are orange and brown.
In total, there are more than 20 species of hornets. Their habitat is the Urals, eastern China, Ukraine. They can also be found in the northern part of Russia, where locals call them “Siberian Sparrows”. They prefer to live in forests or choose lonely hills and other hills. Like other insects, giant hornet wasps live in colonies in nests. They are built horizontally, in the form of numerous honeycombs.
Living
Wasps are responsible for the construction of their home. To begin with, they are harvesting material - chewing wood fibers, abundantly wetting them with saliva. The nest itself consists of 7-8 cells. In each of them, you can count about 600 cells. Where do the hornets mount their nests? Most often in attics, under the roofs of abandoned houses, in birdhouses and in hollows of trees. Sometimes insects settle in burrows of small animals underground.
In addition to nectar, giant wasps feed on tree sap, ripe fruits and berries. They, like skolii, are predators that easily deal with grasshoppers, locusts, and flies. The most important is the uterus, which survived the winter. In the spring she wakes up, looks for a place for the nest, works on the honeycombs and releases the first larvae from the laid eggs. Those, in turn, turn into working hornets.
Patience and work
Who do you think falls into the group of real hard workers among insects? These are ordinary and giant wasps! The photo eloquently conveys their painstaking work. Hornets guard the home, feed the uterus and new larvae. As you can see, the giant wasps have a fairly coordinated work. This is a good basis for family growth.
New rows of honeycombs line up and the nest becomes larger. It is noteworthy that the working hornets do not produce offspring, as they are barren. But by the beginning of autumn, females appear in the family that are capable of breeding. After mating with drones, wasps hide to wait out the long winter. The old uterus and males that have performed their functions die. And the overwintered female in the spring again creates a new family.
Varieties of hornets
All these types of insects have similarities between themselves and other representatives of wasps. The most beautiful of all species is the eastern hornet. It has a bright red-brown color.
This is the only species that is resistant to the dry steppe climate. In addition, the female eastern hornet has surpassed everyone with an impressive size in length - 24-30 centimeters! Insects live in the mountains of Sri Lanka, Japan, China and Korea.
Locals call them "tiger bees." There are absolutely black hornets. By the way, this species is often taken as a basis when creating computer insects for filming in art paintings. In them, giant killer wasps often appear in the lead role.
In reality, black hornets populate Chinese, Korean, Indian and Thai lands. Also found on Russian territory: in the Amur Region, Transbaikalia and Primorye. This species is notable for the fact that the female black hornet does not grow a family. She simply kills the uterus in a flock of hornets of another species and takes her colony under her leadership.
Benefit and harm
All giant wasps are a kind of environmental orderlies. For example, chipping kills insects that damage crops. It is known that whole colonies of Hymenoptera are taken to reed fields to fight rhinoceros beetles. Large wasps also eat wood flies and bugs that destroy the roots of fruit trees. In addition, insects pollinate plants together. Despite the fact that large species of wasps are beneficial, their location next to a person’s house is contraindicated.
Firstly, all insects look intimidating due to their size. Secondly, wasps have highly toxic poison, which is deadly for humans. Children and individuals suffering from allergic diseases are at risk. Multiple bites are especially dangerous.
A large amount of poison gets under the skin of a person and intoxication of the body occurs. The victim may experience headache, nausea, and chills. In severe cases, a person has cramps and death. Therefore, admire unusual wasps only from afar!