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is this a wasp?


Best Answer mbullock42086 , July 25 2019 - 1:00 PM

not a velvet ant.  there are several flightless wasp genera that are extremely similar to velvet ants.


This is most likely a Chyphotes species, superfamily thynnoidea  note the skinny petiole

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#1 Offline BADANT - Posted July 24 2019 - 11:31 AM

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Twentynine Palms, CA, USA
7/23/2019
 
Body:
1. Location of collection: Desert field, Twentynine Palms, CA, USA. It was darting to get out of the light and away from me. It moved very fast..

2. Date of collection: 7/23/2019, at about 9:00pm.
3. Habitat of collection: It was a vacant piece of land in the desert. There was desert type of plants, but not dense. Their were houses and a church on either side of the lot. I caught another later, within about 50 feet of that spot.
4. Length: 1cm.
5. Coloration, hue, pattern and texture: Kind of a carmel color. Not quite orange or yellow. Covered with hair
6. Distinguishing characteristics: Covered with hair, no apparent stinger and very fast runners. They also seem to play possum.
7. Anything else distinctive: Nothing not already mentioned.
8. Nest description: I can’t see any signs of it ever having wings.

9. Nuptial flight time and date: Unknown.



#2 Offline BADANT - Posted July 24 2019 - 11:46 AM

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BugGuide just moved my ID request submitted to them to Velvet ant. The description of which reads:

 Mutillidae Latreille 1802

"Velvet Ant" refers to the hairy nature and the body form like that of ants.

 

Identification

Females wingless, very hairy, and may look like large ants but have no node (bump) on "waist" between abdomen and thorax (ants have one or two)
Males winged, less hairy, look more like typical wasps, larger than females
The sexual dimorphism caused grave taxonomic confusion: genders are difficult to associate and males & females of a single sp. often get placed in separate genera

 

WOW, glad I didn't get stung



#3 Offline mbullock42086 - Posted July 25 2019 - 1:00 PM   Best Answer

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not a velvet ant.  there are several flightless wasp genera that are extremely similar to velvet ants.


This is most likely a Chyphotes species, superfamily thynnoidea  note the skinny petiole


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#4 Offline BADANT - Posted July 25 2019 - 8:59 PM

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I have never seen, and wasn't even aware that flightless wasps were a thing. But I did notice the petiole, I was trying to see if it had a second section. When I got a better look at it in the light, between the straight antennae and it's form from the petiole back I figured I had a wasp. Thank you






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