mutillids
Jul 18, 2020 10:46:24 #
these are male velvet ants,the female doesnt have wings but has a very painful sting.the males like the male cicada killer wasp dont have stingers.Male's fly in search of females; after mating, the female enters a host insect nest, typically a ground-nesting bee or wasp burrow, and deposits one egg near each larva or pupa.these male velvet ants are cruising among about a dozen cicada killer wasps.they get dive bombed and sometimes taken to the ground,then keep on cruising. i looked for a female but didnt see one
Jul 18, 2020 10:52:03 #
Jul 18, 2020 10:56:20 #
tinusbum wrote:
these are male velvet ants,the female doesnt have ... (show quote)
I see you have a Cicada Killer, too.
May be a male. If so, this applies to both.
After emerging, males are looking for females as yet UNEMERGED.
They find them by smell.
Then, first comes, first served.
See my recent post for the female Mutillid.
Bill
Jul 18, 2020 11:24:03 #
Very interesting! Also excellent documentation. I suppose the male C.K. will go after just about anything that could be a female of their kind.
Jul 18, 2020 12:27:04 #
Mark Sturtevant wrote:
Very interesting! Also excellent documentation. I suppose the male C.K. will go after just about anything that could be a female of their kind.
yes, but the males are always fighting each other and will go after anything that flies to close.they are very territorial,but they cant do much without a stinger.
Jul 18, 2020 13:51:41 #
tinusbum wrote:
yes, but the males are always fighting each other and will go after anything that flies to close.they are very territorial,but they cant do much without a stinger.
Yes.
They have a similar sexual manner to male ducks.
Bill
Jul 19, 2020 11:53:14 #
Great series and very educational including that of the reply posts. I watched a program called "Kings of Pain" where they would catch and let known painful insects and animals sting or bite them to rate the level of pain, how long it would last and the resulting damage done. The 'Cow Killer' was one of those that they caught and let it sting them for comparison of pain rating.
Jul 19, 2020 12:52:15 #
Very nice. So that is what I saw on a recent hike in the Santa Cruz mountains. He was scurrying around on the ground for quite a while.
Jul 21, 2020 09:33:58 #
Jul 21, 2020 10:40:13 #
tinusbum wrote:
these are male velvet ants,the female doesnt have ... (show quote)
Once I was sure of my ID of these I would handle them.
People generally thought I was 'weird' any way. That cinched their opinion.
Bill
If you want to reply, then register here. Registration is free and your account is created instantly, so you can post right away.