Double-banded Scoliid vs Dinosaur Ant

Side-by-side species comparison

Attribute Double-banded Scoliid Dinosaur Ant
Scientific Name Scolia bicincta Nothomyrmecia macrops
Order Hymenoptera Hymenoptera
Family Scoliidae Formicidae
Size 15-22 mm 10-15 mm
Habitat Gardens Woodlands
Diet Nectar Feeders Omnivores
Regions Eastern North America Oceania
Conservation Least Concern Critically Endangered

Double-banded Scoliid

A robust black wasp with two prominent yellow bands across the abdomen. It is a beneficial garden insect that parasitizes scarab beetle grubs in lawns.

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Did You Know?

Gardeners often mistake it for a dangerous wasp, but it is actually a beneficial predator of lawn-destroying grubs.

Dinosaur Ant

Considered the most primitive living ant, often called a living fossil. Discovered in 1931 and then lost for 46 years until rediscovered in 1977 in South Australia.

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Did You Know?

This ant was lost to science for 46 years after its discovery — rediscovered by pure luck when an entomologist pulled over to sleep at the roadside where they happened to live.