Dasymutilla aureola (Cresson)

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 : 27

Dasymutilla aureola (Cresson)

Mutilla aureola Cresson, 1865b . Proc. Ent. Soc. Phil. 4:386. Holotype female, California (No. 1879) [ANSP] (examined).

Sphaerophthalma [ sic.] parmosa Blake, 1886. Trans. Amer. Ent. Soc. 13:210. Holotype female, California [ ANSP] (examined).

Sphaerophthalma [ sic.] mollissima Blake, 1886. Trans. Amer. Ent. Soc. 13:215. Holotype male, Colorado [ ANSP] (examined).

Diagnosis of Female ( Plate C1L ). The female of this species is easily distinguished from other species by the extremely broad, quadrate head that is broader than the mesosoma. The integument is entirely black, and the setae are characteristically yellow to orange in color. The mesosoma is as broad as long, and without a scutellar scale.

Diagnosis of Male ( Plate C1M ). Like the female, the integument is entirely black, the setae are characteristically yellow to orange in color, and the head is fully as broad as the mesosoma. Also, the male has a pit filled with setae on sternum II, and the pygidium lacks an apical fringe of setae.

Host Identity. Anthophora stanfordiana Cockerell ( Hymenoptera : Apidae ) and Melissodes Latreille species ( Hymenoptera : Apidae ) ( Krombein 1958); Diadasia bituberculata (Cresson) and D. nitidifrons (Cockerell) ( Hymenoptera : Apidae ) (?) ( Arneson and Pitts 2003).

Distribution. USA (California, Nevada, Oregon, Washington); Mexico (Baja California).

Remarks. This relatively common species is readily recognized throughout its range. Approximately 75 specimens of this species have been examined.

Figures

PLATE 1. Male genitalia of Dasymutilla. A. D. atrata. B. D. baylegi. C. D. bimaculata. D. D. boharti. E. D. brazilia. F. D. chamela. G. D. chillcotti. H. D. fimbriata. I. D. guanacaste.