Velvet Ants

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. 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.

Wingless female Velvet Ant (Tribe Dasymutillini), Alice Springs NT

Velvet Ants (family Mutillidae), Geraldton, Midwest WA © Gary Taylor — Velvet Ant (family Mutillidae), Geraldton, Midwest WA © Gary Taylor

Velvet Ant (Mutillidae), Severnlea QLD © Marc Newman

Velvet Ant (Tribe Dasymutillini), Freshwater National Park QLD © Tony Eales

Genus Aglaotilla, Murgon QLD © Tony Eales

Tribe Dasymutillini, Mount Coot-Tha QLD © Tony Eales

Velvet Ant (tribe (Dasymutillini) - about 20 mm long, Midwest WA © Gary Taylor — Velvet Ant (tribe (Dasymutillini) – about 20 mm long, Midwest WA Gary Taylor

Ephutomorpha (Velvet Ant), Freshwater National Park QLD © Tony Eales

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

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 Blue Hairy Flower Wasp Braconidae Chrysididae Cryptocheilus bicolor (Orange Spider Wasp) Delta latreillei (Potter Wasp) Eumeninae 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 Yellow and Black Wasp

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