velvet ant

n.
Any of various brightly colored wasps of the family Mutillidae, the females of which are wingless and have a coat of velvety hair.

Mutilla europaea

FAMILY

Mutillidae

TAXONOMY

Mutilla europaea Linnaeus, 1758.

OTHER COMMON NAMES

English: Cow-killer, mule-killer; Spanish: Avispas aterciopeladas.

PHYSICAL CHARACTERISTICS

Body length of 0.47–0.55 in (12–14 mm). Females are wingless, and males are winged. Both have downy hairs covering the body; they are brownish-red in color, except for the abdomen, which is an iridescent black-blue with white, hairy bands.

DISTRIBUTION

Europe.

HABITAT

Adults commonly are seen on the ground in open areas, especially in sandy places.

BEHAVIOR

Females attack larvae and pupae of bumblebees.

FEEDING ECOLOGY AND DIET

Adults feed on nectar; their grubs eat the food provisions stored in the invaded nest and also the grubs and pupae of the host.

REPRODUCTIVE BIOLOGY

Velvet ants have an unusual courtship ritual, with mating accomplished in the air. The winged male carries the flightless female while copulating. Females lay the eggs with those of the bumblebee, on which the larvae later feed. The mature larvae knit a cocoon within the cell cocoon, or puparium, of the host.

CONSERVATION STATUS

Not threatened.

SIGNIFICANCE TO HUMANS

This family must be regarded as predominantly injurious, inasmuch as the majority of insects that they attack are predaceous or parasitic upon other insects. They also have the habit of attacking such pollinators as honeybees or bumblebees. Females have a sting that is painful to humans.