Identification, Images, & Information
For Insects, Spiders & Their Kin
For the United States & Canada
 

Register · Log In
HomeGuideID RequestRecentFrassForumsDonateHelp
Clickable Guide
Moths Butterflies Flies Caterpillars Flies Dragonflies Flies Mantids Cockroaches Bees and Wasps Walkingsticks Earwigs Ants Termites Hoppers and Kin Hoppers and Kin Beetles True Bugs Fleas Grasshoppers and Kin Ticks Spiders Scorpions Centipedes Millipedes

Calendar
BugGuide Gathering
Smoky Mountains
University of Tennessee Biological Field Station
August 8-10, 2008
Details...
 
Photos from the last gathering (Minnesota 2007)

TaxonomyBrowse
Info
ImagesLinksBooksData
Home » Guide » Arthropods (Arthropoda) » Insects (Insecta) » Ants, Bees, Wasps and Sawflies (Hymenoptera) » Aculeata - Bees, Ants, and other Stinging Wasps » Vespoidea » Velvet Ants (Mutillidae) » Sphaeropthalminae » Pseudomethoca

Genus Pseudomethoca

Classification · Explanation of Names · Numbers · Size · Identification · Internet References
Velvet Ant - Pseudomethoca - female Image 821 - Pseudomethoca Velvet Ant - Pseudomethoca simillima Velvet Ant - Pseudomethoca simillima Mutillid Wasp - Pseudomethoca sanbornii - female pseudomethoca porpinqua - Pseudomethoca propinqua - male pseudomethoca oculata - Pseudomethoca oculata - male Small Velvet Ant - Pseudomethoca - female
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
Family Mutillidae (Velvet Ants)
Subfamily Sphaeropthalminae
Genus Pseudomethoca
Explanation of Names
Author of genus is Ashmead 1896.
Methocha (or sometimes spelled Methoca) is a genus of Tiphid wasps, so this genus name presumably means false Methoca (Internet searches).
Numbers
Nearctica.com lists 43 species.
Size
6-10 mm (females, various guide photos)
Identification
Univ. Florida--Velvet Ants--the key describes features of this genus:
eyes circular to slightly ovate (egg-shaped)
head less than twice the width of mesosoma (middle body segment); head not toothed
mesosoma narrowed in middle
pygidium usually with lateral carinae (strong ridges)
see above reference for more details
Internet References
Univ. Florida--Velvet Ants
Contributed by Joel Kits on 17 March, 2005 - 11:23pm
Additional contributions by cotinis
Last updated 2 April, 2008 - 6:34pm

Disclaimer: Dedicated naturalists volunteer their time and resources here to provide this service. We strive to provide accurate information, but we are mostly just amateurs attempting to make sense of a diverse natural world. If you need expert professional advice, contact your local extension office.

Contributors own the copyright to and are solely responsible for contributed content.
Click the contributor's name for licensing and usage information.
Everything else copyright © 2003-2008 Iowa State University, unless otherwise noted.

Bugguide is hosted by Iowa State University Entomology.

Printer Friendly Version 		Terms of Use
Privacy Policy
Site Map
Contact