Müllerian-mimicry-complex

Guides

• Dasymutilla scaevola

  Dasymutilla scaevola is a velvet ant species native to North America, widely distributed across the eastern half of the continent. Like other mutillids, females are wingless while males possess wings. The species is a parasitoid wasp that develops within the cocoons of other ground-nesting Hymenoptera. Research has demonstrated that females locate host nests primarily through contact chemoreception of chemical cues from host cocoons and nest materials, rather than visual cues.

  parasitoidvelvet-antchemoreceptionhost-recognitionground-nesting-hostswingless-femaleMüllerian-mimicry-complex