Dasymutilla nigripes (Fabricius)

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 : 75

publication ID	https://doi.org/10.11646/zootaxa.1487.1.1
publication LSID	lsid:zoobank.org:pub:5790FDAC-C5EE-4ED3-AECE-33C0851E956E
persistent identifier	https://treatment.plazi.org/id/0382CB48-CB56-C267-CEF6-FE44FD98C7B0
treatment provided by	Felipe (2021-07-09 16:24:05, last updated by Plazi 2023-11-03 07:47:15)
scientific name	Dasymutilla nigripes (Fabricius)
status

Treatment

Mutilla nigripes Fabricius, 1787 . Mantissa Insectorum 1:313. Holotype female, without locality label [UKGC] (homotype designated and returned to DGMC).

Mutilla sparsa Fox, 1899 . Trans. Amer. Ent. Soc. 25:240. Holotype female, Colorado (No. 4631) [ANSP] (examined). Synonymy: Mickel (1936a:43–44).

Dasymutilla blawa Rohwer, 1912 . Proc. U. S. Nat. Mus. 41:457. Holotype female, Ames, Iowa (No. 14129) [USNM] (examined). Synonymy: Mickel (1936a:43–44).

Dasymutilla segregata Rohwer, 1912 . Proc. U. S. Nat. Mus. 41:459. Holotype female, Pennsylvania (No. 14134) [USNM] (examined). Synonymy: Mickel (1936a:43–44).

Dasymutilla segregata finni Rohwer, 1912 . Proc. U. S. Nat. Mus. 41:459. Holotype female, Egypt, Georgia (W. H. Finn) (No. 14135) [USNM] (examined). Synonymy: Mickel (1936a:43–44).

Dasymutilla bruneri Rohwer, 1912 . Proc. U. S. Nat. Mus. 41:460. Holotype female, Bismarck, North Dakota (L. Bruner) (No. 14136) [USNM] (examined). Synonymy: Mickel (1936a:43–44).

Dasymutilla champlaini Rohwer, 1912 . Proc. U. S. Nat. Mus. 41:461. Holotype female, Lyme, Connecticut (A. B. Champlain) (No. 14140) [USNM] (examined). Synonymy: Mickel (1936a:43–44).

Dasymutilla hirticula Mickel, 1923 . Minn. State Ent. Rpt. 19:107. Holotype male, Fridley sand dunes, Anoka County, Minnesota, July 28, 1922 (Mickel) [UMSP] (examined). Synonymy: Mickel (1936a:43–44).

Diagnosis of Female (Plate C7A). This species can be recognized by lack of a carina on either the antennal scrobe or the gena, by lack of a scutellar scale, by having the mesosoma long and slender, much longer than broad, and by having the setae sparse and appressed. The setal pattern is variable over its range.

Diagnosis of Male (Plate C7B). The tegula of the male is impunctate and shining. It lacks a pit on sternum II and it has an apical fringe of setae on the pygidium. Both tergum II and sternum II are ferruginous, while the remainder of the integument is black. The setae of terga III to VI are entirely black. The setae of tergum II are usually red.

Host Identity. Cerceris f. flavofasciata Smith ( Hymenoptera : Philanthidae ) ( Krombein 1959); it is thought to parasitize Philanthus gibbosus (Fabricius) ( Hymenoptera : Philanthidae ) ( Krombein 1979) as well.

Distribution. USA (Massachusetts to Florida and west to Arizona); Canada (Alberta); Mexico.

Biology. Shappirio (1947:163) (mating behavior); Evans and Miller (1969:74) (adult female overwintering); Evans, Miller, and Bartlett (1973:343–346) (host searching range).

Remarks. This species varies considerably over its large geographical range, which has obviously caused some confusion in its taxonomy, as evidenced by the synonymic names ( Rohwer 1912). In spite of this, it keys out reasonably well in both sexes. This is an extremely common species. Hundreds of specimens of both sexes have been examined.

References

Evans, D. A. & Miller, B. R. (1969) A note on adult overwintering of Dasymutilla nigripes in Michigan (Hymenoptera: Mutillidae). Michigan Entomologist, 2, 74.

Evans, D. A., Miller, B. R., & Bartlett, C. B. (1973) Host searching range of Dasymutilla nigripes (Fabricius) as investigated by tagging (Hymenoptera: Mutillidae). Journal of the Kansas Entomological Society, 46, 343 - 346.

Fabricius, J. C. (1787) Mantissa Insectorum, sistens eorum nuper detecta, adjectis characteribus genericus, differentiis specificus, emendationibus, obserevationibus. Hafniae, Proft., 1, 311 - 313.

Fox, W. J. (1899) The North American Mutillidae. Transactions of the American Entomological Society, 25, 219 - 292.

Krombein, K. V. (1959) Biological notes on some ground-nesting wasps at Kill Devil Hills, North Carolina, 1958, and additions to the faunal list (Hymenoptera, Aculeata). Proceedings of the Entomological Society of Washington, 61, 193 - 199.

Krombein, K. V. (1979) Catalog of Hymenoptera in America North of Mexico, Vol. 2, 1276 - 1314. Smithsonian Institution Press, Washington D. C., 2735 pp.

Mickel, C. E. (1923) Preliminary reports on the Mutillidae of Minnesota. 19 th Report of the State Entomologist of Minnesota, 97 - 113.

Mickel, C. E. (1936 a) New species and records of nearctic mutillid wasps of the genus Dasymutilla (Hymenoptera). Annals of the Entomological Society of America, 29, 29 - 60.

Rohwer, S. A. (1912) Descriptions of new species of wasps in the collections of the United States National Museum. Proceedings of the United States National Museum, 41, 447 - 478.

Shappirio, D. G. (1947) Observations on the biology of some mutillid wasps (Hymenoptera, Mutillidae). Bulletin of the Brooklyn Entomological Society, 42, 162 - 163.