Euspinolia militaris
| Euspinolia militaris | |
|---|---|
 | |
Scientific classification  | |
| Kingdom: | Animalia |
| Phylum: | Arthropoda |
| Clade: | Pancrustacea |
| Class: | Insecta |
| Order: | Hymenoptera |
| Family: | Mutillidae |
| Genus: | Euspinolia |
| Species: | E. militaris |
| Binomial name | |
| Euspinolia militaris Mickel, 1938 | |
Euspinolia militaris is a species of velvet ant in the family Mutillidae, a group of wasps.[1] Despite its common name “panda ant”, it is not a true ant.[2]
Description
The species was described in 1938 and is endemic to Chile, where it inhabits sclerophyll forests.[3] It is commonly known as the "panda ant" due to its distinctive black-and-white coloration, with dense white setae covering most of the head except the eyes, and contrasting dark markings on the body. The coloration is aposematic, serving as a warning to potential predators of its defensive sting.[4] Females are wingless, while males possess wings. Adults measure up to eight millimetres (0.31 in) in length.
Biology
Euspinolia militaris is a solitary parasitoid of mature larvae or pre-pupae of other insects, as is typical of mutillids, with females using the ovipositor both to insert eggs into host brood cells and for defense.[5] Like other mutillids, males are presumed to lift females during mating and copulate while airborne.[6] After mating, the female enters an underground bee or wasp nest where she lays an egg, and the mutillid larva feeds on the host larva and eventually kills it.
Stridulation
The species produces sound in response to threats from potential predators via stridulation, as do other mutillids, though this species is unusual in having a strong ultrasonic component to the sounds it produces. Compared to other mutillids studied, the distress stridulation emitted by E. militaris has a larger number of pulses and a longer duration in the forward notes. Additionally, its chirp durations and repetition intervals are longer and emitted at lower rates.[7]
References
- ↑ Pagliano, Guido (2011-10-31). "I Mutillidae (Hymenoptera) della collezione Zavattari. Le collezioni del Museo Regionale di Scienze Naturali di Torino. II". Bollettino del Museo Regionale di Scienze Naturali di Torino (in Italian). 28 (1): 37–60.
- ↑ Finley, Reginald V. (2016-01-17). "The Panda Ant (Euspinolia militaris)". Amazing Life. Archived from the original on 2017-03-13. Retrieved 2025-01-16.
{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: bot: original URL status unknown (link) - ↑ Fernández, Fernando; Sharkey, Michael J., eds. (2006). Introduction to the Hymenoptera of the Neotropical Region. Bogotá: Colombian Entomology Society and National University of Colombia.
- ↑ Wilson, Joseph S. (2018). "Warning coloration and defense in velvet ants". Biological Journal of the Linnean Society. 124 (1): 1–14.
- ↑ Brothers, D. J. (2006). "Biology and behavior of Mutillidae". Annual Review of Entomology. 51: 315–334.
- ↑ Fernández, Fernando; Sharkey, Michael J., eds. (2006). Introduction to the Hymenoptera of the Neotropical Region. Bogotá: Colombian Entomology Society and National University of Colombia.
- ↑ Torrico-Bazoberry, Daniel; Muñoz, Matías (2019). "High-frequency components in the distress stridulation of Chilean endemic velvet ants (Hymenoptera: Mutillidae)". Revista Chilena de Entomología. 45: 5–13.
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