Fotos / Sonidos

Observ.

elkinjmf

Fecha

Febrero 26, 2024 a las 12:05 TARDE -05

Fotos / Sonidos

Qué

Hormigas de Terciopelo (Familia Mutillidae)

Observ.

csbandi

Fecha

Febrero 3, 2024 a las 10:16 MAÑANA IST

Fotos / Sonidos

Observ.

stenthesnake

Fecha

Agosto 10, 2021 a las 10:14 MAÑANA MST

Fotos / Sonidos

Observ.

leogsantoro

Fecha

Diciembre 31, 2023 a las 12:19 TARDE -03

Descripción

3-4 mm aproximadamente

Fotos / Sonidos

Observ.

suecar

Fecha

Septiembre 23, 2023 a las 09:03 MAÑANA MST

Descripción

D. heliophila? Can't find a good match in BugGuide - I wish photos were better.

Fotos / Sonidos

Observ.

froggy143

Fecha

Septiembre 23, 2023 a las 10:25 TARDE MST

Fotos / Sonidos

Observ.

keerthipriyap

Fecha

Septiembre 16, 2023 a las 06:22 TARDE MDT

Fotos / Sonidos

Qué

Hormiga de Terciopelo de Baja California (Dasymutilla aureola)

Observ.

ouzel

Fecha

Septiembre 3, 2023 a las 05:49 TARDE PDT

Fotos / Sonidos

Observ.

matt-ratcliffe

Fecha

Agosto 27, 2023 a las 04:03 TARDE CDT

Fotos / Sonidos

Observ.

salva_jausant

Fecha

Marzo 10, 2018

Fotos / Sonidos

Observ.

mountainsong

Fecha

Agosto 3, 2023 a las 10:21 MAÑANA PDT

Fotos / Sonidos

Observ.

pavelbykau

Fecha

Julio 21, 2023 a las 10:23 MAÑANA PDT

Fotos / Sonidos

Observ.

natcase

Fecha

Julio 2, 2023 a las 07:09 TARDE MST

Descripción

Male with malformed wings?

Fotos / Sonidos

Observ.

sarasims

Fecha

Junio 15, 2023 a las 04:44 TARDE CST

Descripción

On the hill near the Campsite.

Fotos / Sonidos

Observ.

catherine_g

Fecha

Junio 25, 2023 a las 10:51 MAÑANA CDT

Fotos / Sonidos

Observ.

nmoorhatch

Fecha

Junio 20, 2023 a las 09:32 MAÑANA PDT

Descripción

Male

Fotos / Sonidos

Observ.

sandyhead

Fecha

Junio 11, 2023 a las 08:48 MAÑANA CDT

Fotos / Sonidos

Qué

Hormigas de Terciopelo (Familia Mutillidae)

Observ.

ximenaarevaloc

Fecha

Agosto 22, 2022 a las 12:11 TARDE CDT

Fotos / Sonidos

Qué

Hormiga de Terciopelo de Baja California (Dasymutilla aureola)

Observ.

morromary

Fecha

Mayo 21, 2023 a las 08:11 TARDE PDT

Lugar

Morro Bay (Google, OSM)

Fotos / Sonidos

Observ.

sydney_krantz

Fecha

Mayo 20, 2023 a las 06:27 TARDE PDT

Fotos / Sonidos

Fecha

Marzo 18, 2023 a las 12:33 TARDE PDT

Fotos / Sonidos

Observ.

jfmantis

Fecha

Mayo 8, 2023 a las 03:18 TARDE EDT

Descripción

First mutillid from Central Park on inat!

Fotos / Sonidos

Observ.

jfmantis

Fecha

Abril 4, 2023 a las 01:58 TARDE EST

Descripción

Fast.

Fotos / Sonidos

Observ.

bealeiderman

Fecha

Abril 7, 2023 a las 02:26 TARDE -05

Fotos / Sonidos

Fecha

Marzo 26, 2023 a las 03:17 TARDE -05

Fotos / Sonidos

Observ.

stephtran

Fecha

Febrero 22, 2023 a las 04:00 TARDE AST

Fotos / Sonidos

Observ.

ursulinsky

Fecha

Noviembre 8, 2022 a las 05:50 TARDE -03

Fotos / Sonidos

Observ.

jessicaraintree

Fecha

Enero 20, 2023 a las 03:54 TARDE +07

Fotos / Sonidos

Observ.

tsnowden

Fecha

Enero 20, 2023 a las 03:55 TARDE +07

Lugar

Chiang Dao (Google, OSM)

Fotos / Sonidos

Observ.

chinmay_c_m

Fecha

Diciembre 25, 2022 a las 08:08 MAÑANA IST

Lugar

Shantagiri (Google, OSM)

Fotos / Sonidos

Observ.

naturenate

Fecha

Noviembre 19, 2022 a las 03:32 TARDE PST

Fotos / Sonidos

Observ.

froggy143

Fecha

Noviembre 11, 2022 a las 06:40 TARDE MST

Fotos / Sonidos

Observ.

wynand_uys

Fecha

Noviembre 13, 2022 a las 01:13 TARDE SAST

Descripción

6mm

Fotos / Sonidos

Observ.

jugbayjs

Fecha

Septiembre 24, 2022 a las 01:46 MAÑANA CDT

Fotos / Sonidos

Observ.

vanwest

Fecha

Octubre 2022

Lugar

Texas, US (Google, OSM)

Fotos / Sonidos

Qué

Insectos Alados (Subclase Pterygota)

Observ.

ghost68

Fecha

Julio 1, 2022 a las 09:53 MAÑANA EDT

Lugar

Ocala (Google, OSM)

Fotos / Sonidos

Observ.

tusabez

Fecha

Junio 21, 2022 a las 11:30 MAÑANA CST

Fotos / Sonidos

Observ.

birdingtexan

Fecha

Junio 10, 2022 a las 09:44 MAÑANA CDT

Fotos / Sonidos

Observ.

graceml

Fecha

Junio 3, 2022 a las 08:27 MAÑANA CDT

Fotos / Sonidos

Fecha

Mayo 22, 2022 a las 12:44 TARDE CDT

Fotos / Sonidos

Qué

Hormiga de Terciopelo de Baja California (Dasymutilla aureola)

Observ.

linneav

Fecha

Mayo 22, 2022 a las 08:45 MAÑANA PDT

Fotos / Sonidos

Observ.

cholmesphoto

Fecha

Mayo 21, 2022 a las 09:48 MAÑANA MDT

Fotos / Sonidos

Fecha

Mayo 9, 2022 a las 09:13 TARDE -05

Fotos / Sonidos

Qué

Avispa-hormiga de Terciopelo (Dasymutilla vestita)

Observ.

leonardohe

Fecha

Mayo 16, 2022 a las 09:56 MAÑANA MDT

Fotos / Sonidos

Fecha

Abril 29, 2022

Fotos / Sonidos

Fecha

Abril 29, 2022

Descripción

Male?

Fotos / Sonidos

Observ.

cindychrisler

Fecha

Abril 22, 2022 a las 01:01 TARDE CDT

Fotos / Sonidos

Qué

Avispas-hormiga de Terciopelo (Género Dasymutilla)

Observ.

emmajonas

Fecha

Marzo 29, 2022 a las 10:57 MAÑANA EDT

Fotos / Sonidos

Observ.

idlegrraphics

Fecha

Julio 27, 2021 a las 05:32 TARDE CDT

Fotos / Sonidos

Observ.

gego

Fecha

Agosto 28, 2015 a las 01:45 TARDE CEST

Fotos / Sonidos

Observ.

alice_abela

Fecha

Mayo 25, 2014 a las 04:28 TARDE PDT

Descripción

Figueroa Mountain, Los Padres National Forest, Santa Barbara County, California

Fotos / Sonidos

Qué

Hormigas de Terciopelo (Familia Mutillidae)

Observ.

prajwal_ullal

Fecha

Julio 10, 2021 a las 08:28 MAÑANA IST

Fotos / Sonidos

Observ.

alyssamagliaro

Fecha

Abril 2021

Fotos / Sonidos

Observ.

pieterprins

Fecha

Septiembre 15, 2017 a las 11:33 MAÑANA CEST

Descripción

In open forest. Moving quite rapidly and therefore hard to photograph.

Fotos / Sonidos

Observ.

laurabaird

Fotos / Sonidos

Observ.

gigilaidler

Fecha

Diciembre 2, 2021 a las 12:26 TARDE SAST

Fotos / Sonidos

Observ.

louisenicholas

Fecha

Enero 4, 2022 a las 08:42 TARDE +11

Descripción

Approx 1cm long, poking head into sand, lots of other marks in sand around it. On sandy track between Wyperfeld NP and private bush block, Patchewollock, NW Victoria.

Fotos / Sonidos

Observ.

alejandro_velez

Fecha

Enero 1, 2020 a las 05:33 TARDE -05

Fotos / Sonidos

Observ.

josuergg

Fecha

Diciembre 27, 2021 a las 05:55 TARDE CST

Fotos / Sonidos

Observ.

helpwithnames

Fecha

Diciembre 7, 2021 a las 04:14 TARDE -05

Fotos / Sonidos

Observ.

josuergg

Fecha

Diciembre 3, 2021 a las 10:51 MAÑANA CST

Fotos / Sonidos

Observ.

anniebeez

Fecha

Julio 1, 2019 a las 04:46 TARDE UTC

Fotos / Sonidos

Observ.

matthew_connors

Fecha

Mayo 6, 2018 a las 05:56 TARDE AEST

Descripción

Mmmmmm velvet ants, mmm mmm mmmmmmm velvet ants. They're cool, but I distinctly remember nobody knowing anything much about them. I wonder if I can spend three days sorting them out. Let's hope it doesn't take that long -_-

So uhh I guess we start at the top. Family Mutillidae. I'm just gonna go by what ALA says because it seems decent. There are 9 genera in two subfamilies: Mutillinae: Odontomutilla (1 sp.), Trogaspidia (2 spp.); Sphaeropthalminae: Aglaotilla (14 spp.), Australotilla (5 spp.), Bothriomutilla (1 sp.), Ephutomorpha (155 spp.), Eurymutilla (6 spp.), Odontomyrme (6 spp.), Ponerotilla (4 spp.). Well that's... Mmmm. Okay then. 'Not ideal' is an understatement.

I've seen Ephutomorpha before and it's fairly similar to this so I guess it is at least Sphaeropthalminae. Thorax is a bit of a different shape though so with luck I don't have something within that mess of species.

Alright, well let's see if I can rule out the three mutillines. This is Trogaspidia cooki, at least according to iNat: I see no reason to doubt it really and it seems correct. The other iNat Trogaspidia observations from around the world are all very similar, and given that they have no indication of any strong thoracic spines I am happy to also rule out T. tricarinata. The iNat observations of Odontomutilla are also very similar in form, and seem to differ from Trogaspida mostly in abdominal pattern. So I'm happy ruling Odontomutilla out as well.

Okay, so we have something in Sphaeropthalminae then. Bothriomutilla rugicollis is a very distinctive, common species with large spines on the thorax:

Ponerotilla then - I can find no information with a cursory search except for this paper which mentions that females have (only?) been collected from underground, in the nests of ants. I guess I should probably check them, shouldn't I. Good news! All four are described in this paper, all four are known only from WA, and all four look quite different to this.

Next up is Australotilla. There are some iNat sightings and they seem to have a rather different thorax to mine so I don't think they will be what we are after. But still, I should check. This paper will help quite a lot. It has the original description of the genus, and importantly all of the currently-assigned species are included within it in that paper. The description seems to indicate that the thorax does not contain the large spines that my one has. The generic description states that all species have the "abdomen with 6 bright-colored spots in single longitudinal line, sometimes weak or lacking on 3rd and 4th tergites". The diagram of A. modesta included confirms these details:

and they certainly match the iNat sightings as well. So I am once again happy to rule them out.

Next up, Eurymutilla. Once more there are iNat sightings including two different species, and they look rather different to mine. Still I will look. E. turneri is described in the paper linked above, and the holotype is here: Quite different really. The description of E. unilineata is here; the abdominal pattern is different and it has a brown/orange thorax. The description of E. perelegans is here, currently a synonym of E. argenteolineata. It is rather similar to the previous two; once more it has an orange/red thorax. The original description of E. argenteolineata is here but ugh it's in French. It seems to agree but if anyone wants to translate, go ahead! The description of E. exigua is here. I have only translated part of it but it seems only to be for the male, alas. Either way it seems that most of the Eurymutilla species are very similar to each other, so I will rule for now pending the result that all of the other species are similar too. Ephutomorpha morosa var. albocalcarata, described briefly here, is a synonym of E. cordata. The abdomen has narrow white borders on the first and second segments, so it is out. And finally E. mutilla is described and illustrated here:

So that is Eurymutilla out then.

Odontomyrme next. There are many iNat sightings and they all seem very small. Our paper from before contains the original description of the genus along with a key to all six species. Woohoo! O. gilberti has abdominal tergite 2 rusty red with a preapical black band, and then the remaining segments rusty red. O. difficilis has abominal tergites 1-5 rusty red. O. abjecta has tergite 1 rusty red (at least partially), and then tergites 3 and 4 black with rusty red apical bands. O. tobiasi also has tergite 1 at least partially rusty red, but has tergites 3 and 4 yellowish brown. O. addena has tergite 2 with a "large semicircular, apicomedial rusty red cuticular spot". And finally O. sessilis has tergite 2 with a "less conspicuous, transverse apicomedial rusty red cuticular spot". Here is the type of O. tobiasi for reference:

Good to rule out another genus. Heading into dangerous territory now though....

Alright then, Aglaotilla. Astonishingly, the genus actually has a modern treatment! That's probably because it was only described very recently. Thanks the lord for modern taxonomists. Anyway, it's here and it very clearly states that all the species are brightly metallic and strongly punctured. The type, A. submetallescens, is imaged, and it is indeed similar to the iNat sightings of the genus. So Aglaotilla is out.

And now, alas, we reach our big problem. Ephutomorpha is an incredibly huge mess. Many species actually belong to some of the other genera we have already looked at, and I don't doubt that many also represent undescribed genera. It's a bit like Platybrachys isn't it. So I don't really have much hope for getting a definitive ID, but we might still be able to get somewhere. ALA lists 155 described species, and I am not going through them all. But there are plenty of species IDed here on iNat courtesy of the amazing @kevinwilliams, so we can go through and see if anything is close. Right away there is a match - E. ruficornis. All the markings and morphology match. It is a decent distance from the other iNat sightings but that doesn't necessarily mean anything, considering there are only 4 observations. The original description is... short. It essentially says that it is black, the antennae are red, and the abdomen has white hairs. I guess it matches? I'm hesitant to apply the name given that the only proper reference is iNat itself (don't want to be circular), but I can't see anything that would differentiate it from the other sightings here. E. ruficornis s. l. maybe. Perhaps the experts can chime in and tell me how wrong I am :P

Fotos / Sonidos

Observ.

asdf2020

Fecha

Octubre 26, 2021 a las 05:25 TARDE MST

Fotos / Sonidos

Fecha

Septiembre 6, 2021 a las 03:05 TARDE MDT

Fotos / Sonidos

Observ.

davidmt83

Fecha

Septiembre 25, 2021 a las 12:38 TARDE MDT

Fotos / Sonidos

Observ.

kueda

Fecha

Septiembre 10, 2021 a las 06:28 TARDE PDT

Descripción

Running around in the road, sandy soils, coastal grassland and chaparral.

Etiquetas

Fotos / Sonidos

Observ.

tillyhawk

Descripción

About .5 in long, two together

Fotos / Sonidos

Qué

Avispa-hormiga de Terciopelo (Dasymutilla vestita)

Observ.

bzimmerbirds

Fecha

Abril 21, 2020 a las 06:04 TARDE MDT

Fotos / Sonidos

Observ.

mas68ter

Fecha

Agosto 24, 2021 a las 06:36 TARDE CDT

Fotos / Sonidos

Observ.

elrodrugs_

Fecha

Julio 20, 2021 a las 06:41 TARDE MDT

Fotos / Sonidos

Observ.

stevecollins

Fecha

Agosto 8, 2021 a las 01:02 TARDE EDT

Descripción

I can't find any examples with a black head

Fotos / Sonidos

Fecha

Julio 16, 2021 a las 05:25 TARDE CEST

Fotos / Sonidos

Observ.

savvaszafeiriou

Fecha

Julio 20, 2021 a las 04:45 MAÑANA +13

Fotos / Sonidos

Observ.

ralsalas

Fecha

Julio 29, 2021 a las 02:38 TARDE MDT

Fotos / Sonidos

Observ.

jiutian

Fecha

Julio 2021

Fotos / Sonidos

Qué

Hormiga de Terciopelo de Baja California (Dasymutilla aureola)

Observ.

lexibug

Fecha

Julio 11, 2021 a las 06:48 MAÑANA PDT

Fotos / Sonidos

Observ.

francisco255

Fecha

Julio 15, 2021 a las 05:26 TARDE CDT

Fotos / Sonidos

Observ.

catherine_g

Fecha

Junio 22, 2021 a las 02:01 TARDE CDT

Fotos / Sonidos

Observ.

jakemccumber

Fecha

Julio 8, 2021 a las 01:37 TARDE EDT

Descripción

Photo series focused on the male and active mating. Detailed images of female linked below.

Fotos / Sonidos

Observ.

joshklostermann

Fecha

Junio 30, 2021 a las 04:12 TARDE EDT

Fotos / Sonidos

Observ.

froggy143

Fecha

Junio 25, 2021 a las 09:27 TARDE MST

Descripción

Pretty small, it was seen wandering near the nest entrance of a Camponotus fragilis colony.

Fotos / Sonidos

Fecha

Junio 29, 2021 a las 11:47 MAÑANA CDT

Fotos / Sonidos

Observ.

morgancantrell

Fecha

Junio 25, 2021 a las 01:29 TARDE PDT

Fotos / Sonidos

Observ.

nickrobinson

Fecha

Junio 16, 2021 a las 07:51 TARDE CDT

Fotos / Sonidos

Observ.

tmurray74

Fecha

Junio 15, 2021 a las 01:53 TARDE EDT

Fotos / Sonidos

Observ.

patriciagthomas

Fecha

Junio 2021

Lugar

Texas, US (Google, OSM)

Fotos / Sonidos

Observ.

jcochran706

Fecha

Junio 12, 2021 a las 09:10 MAÑANA CDT

Descripción

Timberlake Biological Field Station

Fotos / Sonidos

Observ.

jcochran706

Fecha

Junio 12, 2021 a las 12:21 TARDE CDT

Descripción

Timberlake Biological Field Station

Fotos / Sonidos

Observ.

keithpetrus

Fecha

Junio 1, 2021 a las 12:25 TARDE UTC

Fotos / Sonidos

Observ.

substanz

Fecha

Octubre 2019

Fotos / Sonidos

Observ.

threeagoutdoors

Fecha

Junio 2, 2021 a las 10:22 MAÑANA CDT

Descripción

I can get more pictures as needed

Etiquetas

Fotos / Sonidos

Observ.

sambiology

Fecha

Mayo 29, 2021 a las 05:37 TARDE CDT

Fotos / Sonidos

Observ.

fishkeeper

Fecha

Mayo 30, 2021 a las 01:23 TARDE CDT

Descripción

Fast runner. Do velvet ants come in non-fuzzy format?

Edit: wow, I didn't realize this was something unusual! Here's more info, in case that's useful for anyone.

This little gal was in an area of scrubland, on an exotic game hunting ranch that's been left pretty much entirely un-developed. They just have a few buildings, and some dirt roads. If anyone finds themself in the same area, this was on Ox Ranch, on a route heading towards the cave they give people tours of. She was along the back route, the one that doesn't include driving through the creek. I don't guarantee that the little pin in this observation is in the exact right spot.
The area had a number of scraggly, smallish live oak trees, and fairly minimal ground cover. Small bushes with clean or nearly-clean ground between them. There was a thin creek 20-30 feet away, running through a wide creekbed. I looked at the ground a lot in that area, watching for rattlesnakes, and I didn't see any other velvet ants.
She was a fast wasp! She didn't really take any notice of me that I could tell, and kept about her business, running in a messy zigzagging pattern that seems to be common in velvet ants. She paused now and then to check out the occasional smell, but never for long.

I'm probably going back to the ranch in fall. If I see any more of these, I'll try to take better pictures, and maybe a bit of video.

Additional edit: these appear to be the only photos of this species alive. So, that's really cool. I wish I'd followed her around and tried to get more shots, but I had no idea she was anything rare! I was on my way down to a creekbed, and took a couple of quick snaps of a neat bug along the way.

Fotos / Sonidos

Observ.

ermersonsharbel

Fecha

Mayo 15, 2021 a las 02:50 TARDE -04

Descripción

@kevinwilliams
@michelotto
@pedro_reck
help with identification

Ajuda na identificação

Fotos / Sonidos

Observ.

josev_ge

Fecha

Mayo 16, 2021 a las 02:28 TARDE -03

Fotos / Sonidos

Observ.

fernandotellez

Fecha

Abril 29, 2021 a las 01:28 TARDE -04

Fotos / Sonidos

Observ.

pufferchung

Fecha

Abril 28, 2021 a las 05:24 TARDE CDT

Descripción

I found two small holes on the hiking trail, noticed something was hiding inside. I poked it with a small straw, a velvet ant came out. It was really fast and I couldn't get a good picture for ID. I didn’t have any container so I used my speedlite soft box , carefully scooped it up with sand. It finally calmed down so I could take few pictures. I put it back to the small hole afterward.

Fotos / Sonidos

Qué

Hormiga de Terciopelo de Baja California (Dasymutilla aureola)

Observ.

alexb0000

Fecha

Marzo 31, 2021 a las 04:08 TARDE PDT

Descripción

One of several velvet ants crossing the trail within a 10-yard radius, and the only ones I saw that day. Evidently there was something very good about this spot.

Fotos / Sonidos

Observ.

fernandotellez

Fecha

Abril 29, 2021 a las 02:37 TARDE -04