Fotos / Sons

Observador

elkinjmf

Data

Fevereiro 26, 2024 12:05 PM -05

Fotos / Sons

What

Formigas-Feiticeiras (Família Mutillidae)

Observador

csbandi

Data

Fevereiro 3, 2024 10:16 AM IST

Fotos / Sons

Observador

stenthesnake

Data

Agosto 10, 2021 10:14 AM MST

Fotos / Sons

Observador

leogsantoro

Data

Dezembro 31, 2023 12:19 PM -03

Descrição

3-4 mm aproximadamente

Fotos / Sons

Observador

suecar

Data

Setembro 23, 2023 09:03 AM MST

Descrição

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

Fotos / Sons

Observador

froggy143

Data

Setembro 23, 2023 10:25 PM MST

Fotos / Sons

Observador

keerthipriyap

Data

Setembro 16, 2023 06:22 PM MDT

Fotos / Sons

Observador

ouzel

Data

Setembro 3, 2023 05:49 PM PDT

Fotos / Sons

Observador

matt-ratcliffe

Data

Agosto 27, 2023 04:03 PM CDT

Fotos / Sons

Observador

salva_jausant

Data

Março 10, 2018

Fotos / Sons

Observador

mountainsong

Data

Agosto 3, 2023 10:21 AM PDT

Fotos / Sons

Observador

pavelbykau

Data

Julho 21, 2023 10:23 AM PDT

Fotos / Sons

Observador

natcase

Data

Julho 2, 2023 07:09 PM MST

Descrição

Male with malformed wings?

Fotos / Sons

Observador

sarasims

Data

Junho 15, 2023 04:44 PM CST

Descrição

On the hill near the Campsite.

Fotos / Sons

Observador

catherine_g

Data

Junho 25, 2023 10:51 AM CDT

Fotos / Sons

Observador

nmoorhatch

Data

Junho 20, 2023 09:32 AM PDT

Descrição

Male

Fotos / Sons

Observador

sandyhead

Data

Junho 11, 2023 08:48 AM CDT

Fotos / Sons

What

Formigas-Feiticeiras (Família Mutillidae)

Observador

ximenaarevaloc

Data

Agosto 22, 2022 12:11 PM CDT

Fotos / Sons

Observador

morromary

Data

Maio 21, 2023 08:11 PM PDT

Lugar

Morro Bay (Google, OSM)

Fotos / Sons

Observador

sydney_krantz

Data

Maio 20, 2023 06:27 PM PDT

Fotos / Sons

Observador

graham_montgomery

Data

Março 18, 2023 12:33 PM PDT

Fotos / Sons

Observador

jfmantis

Data

Maio 8, 2023 03:18 PM EDT

Descrição

First mutillid from Central Park on inat!

Fotos / Sons

Observador

jfmantis

Data

Abril 4, 2023 01:58 PM EST

Descrição

Fast.

Fotos / Sons

Observador

bealeiderman

Data

Abril 7, 2023 02:26 PM -05

Fotos / Sons

Observador

alessandro_mainardi

Data

Março 26, 2023 03:17 PM -05

Fotos / Sons

Observador

stephtran

Data

Fevereiro 22, 2023 04:00 PM AST

Fotos / Sons

Observador

ursulinsky

Data

Novembro 8, 2022 05:50 PM -03

Fotos / Sons

Observador

jessicaraintree

Data

Janeiro 20, 2023 03:54 PM +07

Fotos / Sons

Observador

tsnowden

Data

Janeiro 20, 2023 03:55 PM +07

Lugar

Chiang Dao (Google, OSM)

Fotos / Sons

Observador

chinmay_c_m

Data

Dezembro 25, 2022 08:08 AM IST

Lugar

Shantagiri (Google, OSM)

Fotos / Sons

Observador

naturenate

Data

Novembro 19, 2022 03:32 PM PST

Fotos / Sons

Observador

froggy143

Data

Novembro 11, 2022 06:40 PM MST

Fotos / Sons

Observador

wynand_uys

Data

Novembro 13, 2022 01:13 PM SAST

Descrição

6mm

Fotos / Sons

Observador

jugbayjs

Data

Setembro 24, 2022 01:46 AM CDT

Fotos / Sons

Observador

vanwest

Data

Outubro 2022

Lugar

Texas, US (Google, OSM)

Fotos / Sons

What

Insetos Alados (Subclasse Pterygota)

Observador

ghost68

Data

Julho 1, 2022 09:53 AM EDT

Lugar

Ocala (Google, OSM)

Fotos / Sons

Observador

tusabez

Data

Junho 21, 2022 11:30 AM CST

Fotos / Sons

Observador

birdingtexan

Data

Junho 10, 2022 09:44 AM CDT

Fotos / Sons

Observador

graceml

Data

Junho 3, 2022 08:27 AM CDT

Fotos / Sons

Data

Maio 22, 2022 12:44 PM CDT

Fotos / Sons

Observador

linneav

Data

Maio 22, 2022 08:45 AM PDT

Fotos / Sons

Observador

cholmesphoto

Data

Maio 21, 2022 09:48 AM MDT

Fotos / Sons

Observador

lizethportelalopez

Data

Maio 9, 2022 09:13 PM -05

Fotos / Sons

Observador

leonardohe

Data

Maio 16, 2022 09:56 AM MDT

Fotos / Sons

Data

Abril 29, 2022

Fotos / Sons

Data

Abril 29, 2022

Descrição

Male?

Fotos / Sons

Observador

cindychrisler

Data

Abril 22, 2022 01:01 PM CDT

Fotos / Sons

Observador

emmajonas

Data

Março 29, 2022 10:57 AM EDT

Fotos / Sons

Observador

idlegrraphics

Data

Julho 27, 2021 05:32 PM CDT

Fotos / Sons

Observador

gego

Data

Agosto 28, 2015 01:45 PM CEST

Fotos / Sons

Observador

alice_abela

Data

Maio 25, 2014 04:28 PM PDT

Descrição

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

Fotos / Sons

What

Formigas-Feiticeiras (Família Mutillidae)

Observador

prajwal_ullal

Data

Julho 10, 2021 08:28 AM IST

Fotos / Sons

Observador

alyssamagliaro

Data

Abril 2021

Fotos / Sons

Observador

pieterprins

Data

Setembro 15, 2017 11:33 AM CEST

Descrição

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

Fotos / Sons

Observador

laurabaird

Data

Setembro 2021

Fotos / Sons

Observador

gigilaidler

Data

Dezembro 2, 2021 12:26 PM SAST

Fotos / Sons

Observador

louisenicholas

Data

Janeiro 4, 2022 08:42 PM +11

Descrição

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 / Sons

Observador

alejandro_velez

Data

Janeiro 1, 2020 05:33 PM -05

Fotos / Sons

Observador

josuergg

Data

Dezembro 27, 2021 05:55 PM CST

Fotos / Sons

Observador

helpwithnames

Data

Dezembro 7, 2021 04:14 PM -05

Fotos / Sons

Observador

josuergg

Data

Dezembro 3, 2021 10:51 AM CST

Fotos / Sons

Observador

anniebeez

Data

Julho 1, 2019 04:46 PM UTC

Fotos / Sons

Observador

matthew_connors

Data

Maio 6, 2018 05:56 PM AEST

Descrição

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 / Sons

Observador

asdf2020

Data

Outubro 26, 2021 05:25 PM MST

Fotos / Sons

Observador

myosotisalpestris

Data

Setembro 6, 2021 03:05 PM MDT

Fotos / Sons

Observador

davidmt83

Data

Setembro 25, 2021 12:38 PM MDT

Fotos / Sons

Observador

kueda

Data

Setembro 10, 2021 06:28 PM PDT

Descrição

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

Etiquetas

Fotos / Sons

Observador

tillyhawk

Data

Setembro 2021

Descrição

About .5 in long, two together

Fotos / Sons

Observador

bzimmerbirds

Data

Abril 21, 2020 06:04 PM MDT

Fotos / Sons

Observador

mas68ter

Data

Agosto 24, 2021 06:36 PM CDT

Fotos / Sons

Observador

elrodrugs_

Data

Julho 20, 2021 06:41 PM MDT

Fotos / Sons

Observador

stevecollins

Data

Agosto 8, 2021 01:02 PM EDT

Descrição

I can't find any examples with a black head

Fotos / Sons

Observador

frank-deschandol

Data

Julho 16, 2021 05:25 PM CEST

Fotos / Sons

Observador

savvaszafeiriou

Data

Julho 20, 2021 04:45 AM +13

Fotos / Sons

Observador

ralsalas

Data

Julho 29, 2021 02:38 PM MDT

Fotos / Sons

Observador

jiutian

Data

Julho 2021

Fotos / Sons

Observador

lexibug

Data

Julho 11, 2021 06:48 AM PDT

Fotos / Sons

Observador

francisco255

Data

Julho 15, 2021 05:26 PM CDT

Fotos / Sons

Observador

catherine_g

Data

Junho 22, 2021 02:01 PM CDT

Fotos / Sons

Observador

jakemccumber

Data

Julho 8, 2021 01:37 PM EDT

Descrição

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

Fotos / Sons

Observador

joshklostermann

Data

Junho 30, 2021 04:12 PM EDT

Fotos / Sons

Observador

froggy143

Data

Junho 25, 2021 09:27 PM MST

Descrição

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

Fotos / Sons

Data

Junho 29, 2021 11:47 AM CDT

Fotos / Sons

Observador

morgancantrell

Data

Junho 25, 2021 01:29 PM PDT

Fotos / Sons

Observador

nickrobinson

Data

Junho 16, 2021 07:51 PM CDT

Fotos / Sons

Observador

tmurray74

Data

Junho 15, 2021 01:53 PM EDT

Fotos / Sons

Observador

patriciagthomas

Data

Junho 2021

Lugar

Texas, US (Google, OSM)

Fotos / Sons

Observador

jcochran706

Data

Junho 12, 2021 09:10 AM CDT

Descrição

Timberlake Biological Field Station

Fotos / Sons

Observador

jcochran706

Data

Junho 12, 2021 12:21 PM CDT

Descrição

Timberlake Biological Field Station

Fotos / Sons

Observador

keithpetrus

Data

Junho 1, 2021 12:25 PM UTC

Fotos / Sons

Observador

substanz

Data

Outubro 2019

Fotos / Sons

Observador

threeagoutdoors

Data

Junho 2, 2021 10:22 AM CDT

Descrição

I can get more pictures as needed

Etiquetas

Fotos / Sons

Observador

sambiology

Data

Maio 29, 2021 05:37 PM CDT

Fotos / Sons

Observador

fishkeeper

Data

Maio 30, 2021 01:23 PM CDT

Descrição

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 / Sons

Observador

ermersonsharbel

Data

Maio 15, 2021 02:50 PM -04

Descrição

@kevinwilliams
@michelotto
@pedro_reck
help with identification

Ajuda na identificação

Fotos / Sons

Observador

josev_ge

Data

Maio 16, 2021 02:28 PM -03

Fotos / Sons

Observador

fernandotellez

Data

Abril 29, 2021 01:28 PM -04

Fotos / Sons

Observador

pufferchung

Data

Abril 28, 2021 05:24 PM CDT

Descrição

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 / Sons

Observador

alexb0000

Data

Março 31, 2021 04:08 PM PDT

Descrição

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 / Sons

Observador

fernandotellez

Data

Abril 29, 2021 02:37 PM -04