Dasymutilla magnifica Mickel, 1928

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 : 65

Dasymutilla magnifica Mickel

Dasymutilla magnifica Mickel, 1928 . U. S. Nat. Mus. Bull. 143:234. Holotype female, allotype male, Pima County, Arizona, July 26, 1918 [UMSP] (examined).

Diagnosis of Female (Plate C6C). This species can be differentiated from others by the following combination of characters. The female has both the antennal scrobe and gena strongly carinate. The mesosoma is longer than broad, and with a small, though conspicuous, scutellar scale. The pygidium is irregularly rugose. The integument is entirely black. The head and mesosoma are clothed with black setae, while the metasoma is clothed with bright red setae. The sterna are fringed with red setae.

Diagnosis of Male (Plate C6D). This male of this species can be differentiated from others by the following combination of characters. It has the antennal scrobe carinate. It has a median pit on sternum II, and an apical fringe of setae on the pygidium. In most specimens, the integument is entirely black. As in the female, the head and mesosoma are clothed with black setae, while the metasoma, from the apical half of tergum II, is clothed with bright red setae. The sterna are fringed with red setae. In a few specimens, the integument of the disk of tergum II is slightly red.

Distribution. USA (Arizona, California, Nevada, New Mexico, Texas (?)); Mexico (Baja California Norte, San Luis Potosi, Sonora).

Remarks. This species is known from both sexes, is very large and conspicuous, and is relatively common in both. If an error were made at couplet #54 for the male with respect to the color of the integument, these specimens would key to D. deyrollesi . However, D. magnifica is much larger than D. deyrollesi , and the distribution differs. Approximately 100 female and 50 male specimens of this species have been examined.