Dasymutilla arenivaga 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 : 24-25

Dasymutilla arenivaga Mickel

Dasymutilla arenivaga Mickel, 1928 . U. S. Nat. Mus. Bull. 143:278. Holotype female, Coyote Wells, Colorado Desert , California, August 11, 1914 (J. C. Bradley) (No. 760.1) [CUIC] (examined).

Dasymutilla megalophthalma Mickel, 1928 . U. S. Nat. Mus. Bull. 143:282. Holotype male, Yuma County, Arizona, September, 1903 [AMNH] (examined). Synonymy: Manley and Yanega (2005:127–130).

Diagnosis of Female ( Plate C1G ). Although the compound eyes are not as large relative to body size as for the males, they are larger than other species and can be used to diagnose this species, especially when used in combination with the coloration, in which the dorsum is clothed with yellowish to white setae, while the setae on terga III to VI are black, and the integument is entirely black. Also, the antennal scrobe is carinate dorsally, but the gena is ecarinate, and a scutellar scale is present. Although the female has the mesosoma appearing broad in some specimens, it is still longer than broad by actual measurement.

Diagnosis of Male ( Plate C1H ). The male is easily distinguished by the unusually large compound eyes and ocelli. Also, the setae are entirely orange and black.

Distribution. USA (Arizona, California, Nevada); Mexico (Baja California, Hidalgo (?), Sonora).

Remarks. The female of this species keys easily after the second couplet. If an error were made at couplet #2, it would key to D. blattoserica . It is easily distinguished from D. blattoserica not only by distribution, but also by having black setae on terga III to VI.

Two female specimens in the collection of the Los Angeles County Museum of Natural History bear collection labels of Hidalgo, Mexico. It seems unlikely that this species is found that far south in Mexico, as that is far removed from the collection localities of all other known specimens.

The unusually large compound eyes and ocelli separate the male of this species from all other known males, except D. nocturna , which is also found in California. However, D. nocturna has the setae white and black, whereas in D. arenivaga the setae are orange and black.

Although this species is not commonly found in collections, more than a hundred specimens have been examined. The lack of specimens in collections seems more an artifact of its sand-dune habitat than actual rareness. Males can be attracted to lights at night.

Figures

PLATE 1. Male genitalia of Dasymutilla. A. D. atrata. B. D. baylegi. C. D. bimaculata. D. D. boharti. E. D. brazilia. F. D. chamela. G. D. chillcotti. H. D. fimbriata. I. D. guanacaste.