Case of the Panda Ant


A panda ant? I just had to find out more about this insect.

Surprisingly this charismatic "ant" was difficult to find, and involved translating a lot of spanish text. Alas I discovered this "ant" is actually a wingless wasp from Chile. The specimens collected and cataloged in the Virtual Biodiversity Insectarium were hermaphrodites about 8mm in length from a near coastal region in central Chile.



Pretty cute for a wasp.. but its interesting how similar it looks to this Thistledown Velvet Ant, Dasymutilla gloriosa found in Mexico, California, Texas, Utah, Nevada, and Arizona.


Freaky.

Comments

  1. James P.September 2, 2013 at 8:49 AM

    Too cute!

    ReplyDelete
  2. ScreenavengerSeptember 4, 2013 at 11:31 AM

    That wasp, really interesting thing. A flightless one! Who would ever notice! Those insects, so tiny, yet so powerfull. What about bees? Got notices about the devastation of their hives? Thanks!

    ReplyDelete

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