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Home » Guide » Arthropods (Arthropoda) » Insects (Insecta) » Ants, Bees, Wasps and Sawflies (Hymenoptera) » Aculeata - Bees, Ants, and other Stinging Wasps » Ants, Stinging Wasps, and Hornets (Vespoidea) » Velvet Ants (Mutillidae) » Dasymutilla

Genus Dasymutilla

Classification · Other Common Names · Explanation of Names · Numbers · Size · Identification · Season · Life Cycle · Remarks · Print References · Internet References · Works Cited

Cow Killer - Dasymutilla occidentalis - female

Thistledown Velvet Ant - Dasymutilla gloriosa - female

Mutillid sp - Dasymutilla archboldi - female

Dasymutilla sackeni ? - Dasymutilla sackenii - male

Classification

Kingdom Animalia (Animals)

Phylum Arthropoda (Arthropods)

Class Insecta (Insects)

Order Hymenoptera (Ants, Bees, Wasps and Sawflies)

No Taxon (Aculeata - Bees, Ants, and other Stinging Wasps)

Superfamily Vespoidea (Ants, Stinging Wasps, and Hornets)

Family Mutillidae (Velvet Ants)

Genus Dasymutilla

Other Common Names

Velvet-ant, Cow-killer

Explanation of Names

Author of genus is Ashmead, 1899.

Numbers

Arnett, p. 579, lists 141 species. (1)

Size

circa 13-25 mm

Identification

Females wingless, typically hairy, resembling large ants, but lack the projection on the petiole (between thorax and abdomen) of ants. Males winged.

Season

Summer to early fall. May-September (D. occidentalis, North Carolina)

Life Cycle

External parasites of various hymenoptera.

Remarks

Females can inflict a painful sting.

Print References

Arnett, p. 579 (1)

Swan and Papp, p. 547, fig. 1191--D. bioculata (2)

Brimley, pp. 437-438 (3)

Borror and White, p. 345, plate 15--D. occidentalis (4)

Arnett and Jacques, #257, D. sackenii (5)

Milne, pp. 817-818, figs. 325--D. occidentalis, 326--D. magnifica, 327--D. gloriosa (6)

Powell and Hogue, p. 332, plate 16d--D. coccineohirta (7)

Salsbury, pp. 264-265, photos of D. occidentalis, D. quadriguttata, D. vestita (8)

Drees, pp. 282-283, fig. 344--D. occidentalis (9)

Internet References

Insects of Cedar Creek

Works Cited

1.	American Insects: A Handbook of the Insects of America North of Mexico By Ross H. Arnett

2.	The Common Insects of North America By Lester A. Swan, Charles S. Papp

3.	Insects of North Carolina By C.S. Brimley

4.	A Field Guide to Insects By Richard E. White, Donald J. Borror, Roger Tory Peterson

5.	Simon & Schuster's Guide to Insects By Dr. Ross H. Arnett, Dr. Richard L. Jacques

6.	National Audubon Society Field Guide to Insects and Spiders By Lorus and Margery Milne

7.	California Insects By Jerry A. Powell, Charles L. Hogue

8.	Insects in Kansas By Glenn A. Salsbury and Stephan C. White

9.	A Field Guide to Common Texas Insects By Bastiaan M. Drees, John A. Jackman

Contributed by Joel Kits on 17 March, 2005 - 11:22pm
Additional contributions by cotinis
Last updated 17 July, 2005 - 6:16am

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