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Velvet ants avoid predation using the following defense mechanisms: a venomous sting (if female), aposematic coloration, a stridulatory organ in their abdomen, an alarm secretion from their mandibular gland, and a durable exoskeleton. This array of defenses has contributed to the velvet ants being attributed the title of "the indestructible ...
Dasymutilla is a wasp genus belonging to the family Mutillidae.Their larvae are external parasites to various types of ground-nesting Hymenoptera.Most of the velvet ants in North America—the wingless females of which are conspicuous as colorful, fast, and "fuzzy" bugs—are in the genus Dasymutilla.
Dasymutilla gloriosa, sometimes referred to as the thistledown velvet ant, [1] [2] is a member of the genus Dasymutilla. Only females are wingless, as in other mutillids . Compared to other mutillids, it is mid-sized, being larger than some of the smallest known species like Dasymutilla vesta but smaller than some of the largest known species ...
Like most wasp species, velvet ants live solitary lives. Males take to the air to detect pheromones released by females. Males will fly towards female stridulation sounds as well. [12] Once a receptive female is located, the male will carry the female in his mandibles and move her to a place he deems "safe" to mate.
Dasymutilla thetis, also known as the minute thistledown velvet ant, is a species of velvet ant known only from Arizona in North America. [1] It was first described by Charles A. Blake as Sphaerophthalma thetis in 1886. [2] Individuals are about 7 mm long. [1] Females are "clothed entirely with ivory-white setae." [3]: 405
Velvet ants look like large ants, but are wingless female wasps. [24] [25] Distribution and diversity. Region Number of species ...
Dasymutilla sackenii, also known as Sacken's velvet ant, is a species of velvet ant, actually a type of wasp. [1] It is found in Oregon, California, Nevada, Baja California, and Baja California Sur. [2] [3]: 399 As with most velvet ants, the males have wings and the females are wingless.
Members of this family of wasps are often mistaken for true ants, especially since females are wingless. Unlike ants, however, their bodies are covered by a dense pile of velvet-like hair, and they lack petiole nodes. [1] The species is found in desert or arid regions of Southwestern United States and Mexico. [2]