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Not Thistledown Velvet Ant

Posted by June 6th, 2005 at 12:00 am

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Velvet Ants

cool site!
Very interesting site. I have a couple of bugs I can’t identify. Both from Southern California. I appreciate any help you can give me.
Ron Drake

thistledown ron Not Thistledown Velvet Antthistledown ron 2 Not Thistledown Velvet Ant

Hi Ron,
Your photos of the Thistledown Velvet Ant or Gray Velvet Ant, Dasymutilla gloriosa, are very nice. She is a female flightless wasp and can deliver a painful sting.

Ed. Note Update: (12/02/2005)
ID corrections, etc. I’ve just discovered your excellent site (directed there by “This is True”), and as a hymenopterist have a few comments: All of the “thistledown velvet ants” shown are actually Dasymutilla nocturna, not Dasymutilla gloriosa. The latter has the erect hairs somewhat sparser and more “untidy”, the body is a reddish brown, not black, and all the hairs are whitish (no black hairs), so the legs look whitish.
I hope these comments are useful.
Denis

Update: (04/02/2008) ID for insects
Hey, my name is Will, this is a list of the ID’s for the velvet ant page. image 37. Dasymutilla sackeni, D. nocturna restricted. hope this helps a bit.

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