Dasymutilla erythrina (Say)

MANLEY, DONALD G. & PITTS, JAMES P., 2007, Tropical and Subtropical Velvet Ants of the Genus Dasymutilla Ashmead (Hymenoptera: Mutillidae) with Descriptions of 45 New Species, Zootaxa 1487 (1), pp. 1-128 : 49-50

Dasymutilla erythrina (Say)

Mutilla erythrina Say, 1836 . Boston J. Nat. Hist. 1:297. Holotype male, Mexico, location unknown. Neotype male, Cherry , Yavapai Co., Arizona, Oct. 5, 1969 (D. B. Carver) [UMSP] (examined).

Dasymutilla fulgida Mickel, 1928 . U. S. Nat. Mus. Bull. 143:76. Holotype female, Oak Creek Cañon, Arizona, August (F. H. Snow) [SEMC] (examined). Male description: Mickel (1974:470). NEW SYNONYM.

Dasymutilla pallida Mickel, 1937 . Rev. Ent. Rio 7:186. Holotype male, Jalappa , Mexico (Deppe) (No. 6655) [ZMHB]. NEW SYNONYM.

Diagnosis of Female (Plate C4H). This species can be distinguished by a unique combination of characters. The mesosoma is broad, being of equal length and width, by actual measurement. The head of the female is distinctly narrower than the mesosoma. Both the antennal scrobe and gena are carinate, but the scutellar scale is absent. Sternum II is merely punctate, not at all scabrous. Tergum II lacks maculae. The dorsum of the body is concolorous, clothed with iridescent, bright red setae. Tergum II lacks black setae anteriorly and has, at most, a few black setae on the apical fringe medially. The pleura, venter, and legs are clothed with black setae.

Diagnosis of Male (Plate C4I). The male is easily recognized by the extremely large pit on sternum II, covering a large part of the segment. Also, this species has the antennal scrobe carinate dorsally. The posterior tibia is greatly dilated distally. The pygidium has an apical fringe of setae. The integument of tergum II is reddish, although the remainder of the integument is black. The dorsum of the body is concolorous, clothed with bright red setae.

Distribution. USA (Arizona); Mexico (Chiapas, Coahuila, Distrito Federal, Durango, Jalisco, Michoacan, Morelos, Puebla, Queretaro).

Remarks. With the proposed synonymy, D. erythrina is now known from both sexes. The female, previously recognized as D. fulgida , does key out particularly well, because the mesosoma is exactly as broad as long. For that reason, it appears in the key twice.

The male of D. fulgida described by Mickel (1974) is indistinguishable from D. erythrina erythrina . The two previously recognized subspecies of D. erythrina are indistinguishable except for color of the setae of the pleura and legs: black in D. erythrina and white in D. pallida .

This is a relatively uncommon species, with only about a dozen specimens known for each sex. All known specimens have been examined for both sexes, with the exception of the holotype of D. pallida .