A composite image of two small insects against a neutral gray background. A velvet-ant (Mutillidae) is above a true ant (Formicidae). Both are dark metallic, with shades ranging from purplish on the head and mesosoma, to shades of dark green on the metasoma. The velvet-ant also has dense apical fringes of appressed setae on the abdominal tergites.

I got nuthin' new to offer anyone today so I'm reposting this composite image of a velvet-ant and a true ant (or, as I like to call them, false velvet-ants... 😀 ).

I like the convergent metallic color pattern.

#NaturalHistoryCollections
#FocusStacking
#Mutillidae
#Formicidae
#Australia

Extreme macro photograph of the head of a female velvet ant (Dasymutilla occidentalis), a flightless wasp species. The head is densely covered in vibrant orange-red hairs, with large, glossy black compound eyes positioned on either side. Fine details of the hairs, mandibles, and segmented antennae are clearly visible. The background is softly blurred with a mix of purple and black, drawing full attention to the vivid coloration and textures of the insect's face.

This female velvet ant (Dasymutilla occidentalis) isn’t an ant, it’s a wingless wasp. #Mutillidae are known for parasitizing bumblebee nests, where larvae kill host young. The sting is real and ranks high in pain, but they’re more likely to bolt than bite.
#Invertebrate #bugsky #macrophotography 🌿

Dorsal view of a female velvet-ant (family Mutillidae) on a grey background. It's reddish brown, with dense, large patches of appressed yellow and black setae. The thorax has a large, heart-shaped patch of black appressed setae on a background of yellow.

.

Happy Dasymutilla sicheliana day to those who celebrate.

.

#NaturalHistoryCollections
#Macrophotography
#FocusStacking
#Mutillidae
#IHeartYou

Stenomutilla argentata, female. The body, with a velvety appearance due to the hair that covers it, closely resembles that of an ant. The head is black, the thorax reddish-orange; the petiole and abdomen are predominantly black but with a white band each.

An interesting encounter dating back to 2 years ago: Stenomutilla argentata, #Mutillidae.
These #Hymenoptera are often mistaken for ants but they are actually #Wasps. Males have wings, while the females are wingless but, on the other hand, have a sting.
#Invertebrates #Nature #Insects #Photography

The short video in the previous post cycles through the individual images that were captured during the initial #FocusStacking capture step.

The picture below is the final output image creating by the stacking software.

#NaturalHistoryCollections
#MacroPhotography
#WaspWednesday
#Mutillidae

Dorsal view of a pinned male velvet-ant on a grey background. The body is a brilliant metallic blue, with magenta tints on the all three body segments. The legs and antennae are darker, almost black in some places. The wings are extended away from the body and are smokey throughout. Scattered, erect, dark hairs are scattered across the body and legs. The abdomen has some additional pale setae, especially on the 2nd and 3rd segments.The body is punctate; the back end of the thorax is more heavily sculptured with a reticulate pattern. This specimen was collected in Australia and is the species Ephutomorpha corusca.

Re-sharing this image for #BlueMonday . This is NOT a jewel wasp ( #Chrysididae ), but rather a velvet-ant ( #Mutillidae ).

I know, right?

#BlueBugs
#Bluetillidae
#BlueVelvet (-ant) [RIP David Lynch]

#entomology #invertebrates #insects #bugs #wasps #mutillidae

Above and to the right of a right lateral view, of a pinned female velvet-ant against a white background. The body is metallic. The head and thorax are subtle shades of purple, blue, and green. The abdomen is an olive greenish color overall, with hints of magenta and yellow (and shades in between). The head and thorax are deeply punctured; the punctures on the abdomen are shallower. Long, dark, erect hairs are scattered throughout the body and there are apical bands of white, appressed hairs on the first and second abdominal segments. This specimen was collected in Australia.

IGNORE THIS POST *

[it's a test run for #BlueMonday next week, wherein I hope to gain @ashwhiffin.bsky.social 's stamp of approval]

* and DO NOT follow me if you don't want to see more images like this in your timeline

#NaturalHistoryCollections
#Macrophotography
#FocusStacking
#Mutillidae

Close-up of printed dichotomous key from a scientific journal. All but one couplet is blurred. The unblurred couplet reads as follows: 12. Femora densely clothed beneath with long hairs.....oceola (Blake) Femora sparsely pubescent beneath........................................13

Left quarter profile view of a pinned male velvet-ant, Pseudomethoca oceola. The body is black except the first abdominal segment is ferruginous. The wings are dusky, the body is punctate and covered with fairly dense, erect dark orange and black hairs. There is an orange arrow in the picture, pointing to the ventral edge of the hind femur, where there is a dense fringe of long, erect hairs. The back ground is grey and the black-enameled insect pin is visible, passing from the top of the image, through the specimen's thorax, and out of the bottom of the image.

Dichotomous identification keys sometimes direct users to find and interpret obscure, often qualitative characters & character states—these can befuddle even seasoned users.

This, however, this is NOT one of those characters. 🤓

#Mutillidae
#Taxonomy
#NaturalHistoryCollections
#FairlyConfident

Some quick and dirty velvet ants from the weekend! We scanned a bunch of these at the Synchrotron earlier this year but they've been trapped as digital files since I haven't had any time to work on them :'(
#microCT #mutillidae #3Dprinting

Not exactly the clearest picture but check out this cuuuuutie from Saguaro National Park 🌵 Dasymutilla no idea what species. This a velvetant (no space!) #Mutillidae #velvetant

Hiya! I'm all in for wasps.

Here's maybe the poster child for Australian mutillids, a Bothriomutilla rugicollis female.

Many velvet-ants parasitize other aculeate wasps, so the heavy sculpturing might be defensive armor protecting her against potential host wasps. 🤘🏼

#WaspLove
#Mutillidae

Velvet ant on the hunt.

#macrophotography #velvetant #wasp #mutillidae