Dasymutilla nogalensis 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 : 77

Dasymutilla nogalensis Mickel

Dasymutilla nogalensis Mickel, 1928 . U. S. Nat. Mus. Bull. 143:258. Holotype female, Nogales , Arizona, July 19, 1903 (Oslar) (No. 761.1) [CUIC] (examined).

Dasymutilla atrifulva Mickel, 1928 . U. S. Nat. Mus. Bull. 143:290. Holotype male, Dragoon , Cochise County, Arizona, July 20, 1917 (J. Bequaert) [UMSP] (examined). NEW SYNONYM.

Diagnosis of Female (Plate C7E). The female of this species has the apices of the middle and hind femora squarely truncate, with the outer lobe being sulcate. It can be separated from all other species having this character by the following: a scutellar scale is present; the pygidium is longitudinally rugose; and the head and mesosoma are clothed with black setae, while the metasoma is clothed with red setae.

Diagnosis of Male (Plate C7F). The distinguishing character of this male is the presence of a median area on sternum II that has fine close punctures, each bearing a fine seta. It shares this character with D. ocydrome . It is distinguished from D. ocydrome by having the setae of the head and mesosoma black, while those of the metasoma are red. The pygidium lacks an apical fringe of setae. Usually, the integument of the dorsum of the metasoma is ferruginous, while the remainder of the integument is black. In a few specimens where the integument is entirely black, they key out to D. phaon . However, this species is easily distinguished from D. phaon on the basis of the fine punctures on sternum II.

Distribution. USA (Arizona, New Mexico); Mexico (Sinaloa, Sonora).

Remarks. It had been suspected that D. nogalensis and D. atrifulva were female and male of the same species, because of the similar coloration and nearly identical distribution. On 14 July 1992, one mile east of Apache, in Cochise County, Arizona, a female of D. nogalensis was placed in a small plastic cage from which the ends had been cut out and replaced with wire screen ( Manley 1999a). Five males were attracted to the caged female, all of which were collected and subsequently identified as D. atrifulva . No other males were attracted to the caged female. The name D. nogalensis has precedence due to page priority. This species is relatively common, although relatively restricted in distribution. Approximately two hundred females and about a hundred males have been examined.