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Family Mutillidae - Velvet Ants
Wasps in this family are usually heavily sclerotised and with metallic colours. Males are winged and look very different with female. Females are wingless and ant-like, but can be distinguished by their curled antenna and hairy body. Larvae parasite on other wasp, bee or ant nest.
- Velvet Ant
- Ephutomorpha ferruginata, female, body length 12mm Male, body length 15mm
- Male and female of Velvet Ant look quite different. This winged male is black in colour. The wingless female is velvet in colour with body coarsely punctated. In mid-summer Karawatha Forest on a sandy footpath. We saw a female Velvet Ant walking slowly with abdomen tip pointing upward. Then a winged black wasp appeared and mated with the female Velvet Ant. More information can be found in this page.
- Mutillidae Wasp
- Ephutomorpha sp., male, body length 20mm
- We took those photos in Mt Nebo rainforest during mid summer. It has the hairy legs and body. Here we would like to thank Professor Denis Brothers sending us email advised that this wasp is family Mutillidae (genus Ephutomorpha) male. Please also visit this page above this wasp.
- Reference:
- 1. Insects of Australia, CSIRO, Division of Entomology, Melbourne University Press, 2nd Edition 1991, pp 976.
- 2. Insects of Australia and New Zealand - R. J. Tillyard, Angus & Robertson, Ltd, Sydney, 1926, p295.
