Family MUTILLIDAE
Compiler and date details
29 May 2012 - Denis J. Brothers, School of Life Sciences, University of KwaZulu-Natal, Pietermaritzburg, South Africa and Danielle N. Stringer, John T. Jennings & Andrew D. Austin, Australian Centre for Evolutionary Biology and School of Earth & Environmental Sciences, The University of Adelaide SA 5005
Introduction
Mutillidae are small to medium-sized wasps (4–24 mm) that are most diverse in the tropics. Just under 200 species are described for Australia, but the fauna is probably at least twice this size. Adults are generally densely pubescent (hairy), heavily sclerotised, the inner margins of the eyes are not strongly emarginate, the mid and hind coxae are close together, and the antero-lateral metasoma (T3) has felt lines (hairy grooves associated with glands). In addition, the sexes are strongly dimorphic. Females are wingless, lack dorsal sutures on the mesosoma (which is partly fused), often have small eyes and a powerful sting, and superficially resemble ants, hence their common name 'velvet ants'. Males are fully winged, lack pseudovenation, lack a lobed hind wing, and are much larger than females which they carry around attached to their genitalia before and during mating. Most members of the family are black, brown or reddish, and often have bright spots or bands of white, yellow or red. Some Australian species are metallic blue, green, bronze or purple. The Australasian fauna is very poorly studied. Only two of the seven subfamilies occur in Australia and the generic classification is uniformative in that most species are placed in a single genus, Ephutomorpha. To complicate matters, the whereabouts of the majority of type material for Australian representatives of the family is unknown.
Mutillids are ectoparasitoids, and can be found on bare ground, sandy areas, tree trunks and walls where they search for nests of Sphecidae, Crabrionidae, Vespidae and Apidae whose larvae or pupae they parasitise.
General References
Brothers, D.J. 1975. Phylogeny and classification of the aculeate Hymenoptera, with special reference to the Mutillidae. University of Kansas Science Bulletin 50: 483-648 [Date published 31/12/1975]
Brothers, D.J. 1999. Phylogeny and evolution of wasps, ants and bees (Hymenoptera, Chrysidoidea, Vespoidea and Apoidea). Zoologica Scripta 28: 233-249
History of changes
| Published | As part of group | Action Date | Action Type | Compiler(s) |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 07-Aug-2012 | 25-Jul-2012 | MODIFIED | ||
| 12-Feb-2010 | (import) |