MutillidaeAglaotilla Bothriomutilla rugicollis (Mutillid Wasp) Dasymutillini
Velvet Ants is one of those terms that is known as a “negation”, a decription of an insect that is neither “velvet” nor is it an “ant”. Of course the hairy appearance (allude to the “velvet” description) and ant-like appearance. The description of “Velvet Ants” actually describes the family Mutillidae, a group of wasps whose female of the species are wingless, and actually look like large hairy ants.
Mutillid Wasps are a family of more than 7,000 species of wasps whose common name of Velvet Ants, refer to their resemblance to ants. This group of wasp like ants usually have dense hair, can vary in colour from a bright scarlet or orange, black, white, silver or gold. These colours serve as “aposematic signals” (a warning visual signal of bright colours and high-contrast patterns indicating a noxious prey).
- Scientific classification
- Kingdom: Animalia
- Phylum: Arthropoda
- Subphylum: Hexapoda
- Class: Insecta
- Informal: Pterygotes
- Order: Hymenoptera
- Superfamily: Vespoidea
- Family: Mutillidae
- Subfamily: Sphaeropthalminae
- Family: Mutillidae
- Subfamily: Sphaeropthalminae
- Tribe: Dasymutillini
- Genus:
- Aglaotilla
- Ancistrotilla
- Ascetotilla
- Australotilla
- Bothriomutilla
- Cephalomutilla
- Dasymutilla
- Ephutomorpha
- Eurymutilla
- Frigitilla
- Gogoltilla
- Leucospilomutilla
- Lomachaeta
- Odontomyrme
- Ponerotilla
- Quwitilla
- Reedomutilla
- Suareztilla
- Tobantilla
- Traumatomutilla
- Genus: Aglaotilla
- Species:
- Aglaotilla aeruginosa (Smith, 1879)
- Aglaotilla australis (André, 1898)
- Aglaotilla cuprea (André, 1901)
- Aglaotilla dilecta (Turner, 1916)
- Aglaotilla discolor Brothers, 2018
- Aglaotilla ignita (Smith, 1855)
- Aglaotilla metallica (Smith, 1855)
- Aglaotilla mira (André, 1895)
- Aglaotilla nigroaenea (Smith, 1855)
- Aglaotilla picturata (Turner, 1914)
- Aglaotilla semicuprea (André, 1898)
- Aglaotilla submetallescens (Turner, 1916)
- Aglaotilla viridatis (Smith, 1855)
- Aglaotilla viridiaurea (André, 1895)
Footnote & References
- Genus Aglaotilla (Velvet Ant) © Tony Eales
- Aglaotilla Brothers, 2018, Atlas of Living Australia, https://bie.ala.org.au/species/https://biodiversity.org.au/afd/taxa/e40fb13b-075c-48cb-a4aa-401393fad513
MutillidaeAglaotilla Bothriomutilla rugicollis (Mutillid Wasp) Dasymutillini
WaspsWasps Index Australian Large Wasps Australian Mud Nest Wasps Mud Wasp Velvet Ants Abispa ephippium Acarozumia amaliae Aulacidae Australodynerus Bembix Bembicinae Bethylidae Blue Hairy Flower Wasp Braconidae Chrysididae Cryptocheilus bicolor (Orange Spider Wasp) Delta latreillei (Potter Wasp) Eumeninae Delta philantes Ferreola handschini (Orange-collared Spider Wasp) Flower Wasps Gasteruptiid Wasp Hairy Flower Wasps Isodontia (Grass-carrying Wasp) Lissopimpla excelsa (Orchid Dupe Wasp) Mutillidae Paralastor sp. Pseudabispa bicolor ssp. nigrocinctoides Radumeris radula (Yellow Hairy Flower Wasp) Radumeris tasmaniensis (Yellow Hairy Flower Wasp) Sceliphron laetum Thynnid Wasps Tiphiidae Torymus Yellow and Black Wasp
InsectsBees Beetles Blattodea Butterflies Coleoptera Cicada Crabronidae Diptera Dragonflies & Damselflies Formicidae Hemiptera Heteroptera Moths Orthoptera Orthopteroid Processionary Caterpillar Stink Bugs, Shield Bugs and Allies Wasps Water Scorpion (Laccotrephes tristis) Witchetty Grub