Dasymutilla serenitas Mickel

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 : 88

Dasymutilla serenitas Mickel

Dasymutilla serenitas Mickel, 1928 . U. S. Nat. Mus. Bull. 143:289. Holotype male, Eastland County, Texas, June 3, 1921 (Grace O. Wiley) [UMSP] (examined).

Diagnosis of Male (Plate C8B). This species has a unique combination of characters, including color. The antennal scrobe of this species is not carinate. There is a small, median pit on sternum II that is densely filled with setae. The pygidium lacks an apical fringe of setae. The integument of the posterior half of tergum II is yellow, while the remainder is black. The setae on the dorsum of the metasoma are a conspicuous, shiny golden color.

Female. Unknown.

Distribution. USA (Texas); Mexico (Coahuila).

Remarks. This species is known only from the male. Its limited geographical range is restricted to southern Texas and just across the border into northeastern Mexico. It is a small, but easily identified, species. This species is poorly represented in collections due to its limited distribution. Approximately three dozen specimens have been examined.