[Taxacom] Tiger ant, Bahia, Brazil

[Doug Yanega]

Denis Brothers wrote:

>Doug's points about mutillid identification and classification are 
>certainly valid.
>
>Unfortunately, his usual accuracy is not quite spot-on this time. 
>The mutillid in the video is a Hoplomutilla, probably Hoplomutilla 
>biplagiata Mickel, 1939. This species was described from the same 
>locality and the specimen agrees closely with the description for 
>all features that I can make out.
>
>Nevertheless, Doug's error is quite understandable, since the 
>impression/colour pattern is certainly more similar to that of many 
>species of Traumatomutilla than most Hoplomutilla species. The form 
>of the first metasomal ("abdominal") segment and shape of the 
>mesosoma ("thorax"), amongst other less obvious features, differ 
>though.

Sorry about that - I was operating from memory alone, as we have no 
Traumatomutilla specimens in our collection to compare to, so I was 
going strictly by the coloration pattern, and had not realized that 
any Hoplomutilla converged on that particular pattern. You're right 
about the structural features, which are indeed diagnostic, and I'd 
overlooked them. This wasp is probably attacking orchid bee species 
in the genus Eulaema, or maybe Eufriesea.

Peace,
-- 

Doug Yanega        Dept. of Entomology         Entomology Research Museum
Univ. of California, Riverside, CA 92521-0314        skype: dyanega
phone: (951) 827-4315 (standard disclaimer: opinions are mine, not UCR's)
              http://cache.ucr.edu/~heraty/yanega.html
   "There are some enterprises in which a careful disorderliness
         is the true method" - Herman Melville, Moby Dick, Chap. 82