Euspinolia militaris is a species of wasp in the family Mutillidae.[1] Though it is a wingless wasp, it has sometimes been referred to by the name panda ant.[2]
| Euspinolia militaris | |
|---|---|
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Scientific classification 
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| Domain: | Eukaryota |
| Kingdom: | Animalia |
| Phylum: | Arthropoda |
| Class: | Insecta |
| Order: | Hymenoptera |
| Family: | Mutillidae |
| Genus: | Euspinolia |
| Species: | E. militaris
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| Binomial name | |
| Euspinolia militaris Mickel, 1938
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Description
editThis species was discovered in 1938, and inhabits the Chilean sclerophyll forests. It has been referred to as the "panda ant" due to its coloration, consisting of a white coat covering all of its head except the eyes, and black and white spots appearing over the rest of its body. The coloration is aposematic, serving as a warning to predators of its painful and powerful sting. Females are wingless and males have wings. They measure up to eight millimetres (0.31 in) in length.
Biology
editEuspinolia militaris are solitary ectoparasites of mature larvae or pre-pupae of other insects, as is true of other mutillids, with females using the ovipositor to insert eggs into host brood cells, and for stinging (for defense). The color patterns of a female wasp is what helps the male wasp differentiate between another male and a female.[3] Like other mutillids, during mating the males are presumed to lift females and proceed to mate while airborne.[4] After mating, the female mutillid enters an underground bee or wasp nest where she lays an egg, and the mutillid larva then feeds off of the host larva and eventually kills it.
Stridulation
editThis species produces sound in response to threats from potential predators via stridulation, as do other mutillids, though this species is unusual in having a strong ultrasonic component to the sounds it produces. Compared to other mutillids studied, the distress stridulation emitted by E. militaris has a larger number of pulses and a longer duration in the forward notes. Furthermore, its chirp durations and repetition intervals are longer and emitted at lower rates.[5]
References
edit
- ^ Pagliano, Guido (2011-10-31). "I Mutillidae (Hymenoptera) della collezione Zavattari Le collezioni del Museo Regionale di Scienze Naturali di Torino. II". Bollettino. Museo Regionale di Scienze Naturali. Torino (in Italian). 28–1: 37–60 – via ResearchGate.
- ^ Finley, Reginald V. (2016-01-17). "The Panda Ant (Euspinolia militaris)". Exploring Our Planet's Amazing Biodiversity. Amazing Life. Archived from the original on 2017-03-13. Retrieved 2018-01-10.
- ^ Finley, R. (2019, August 6). The Panda Ant (euspinolia militaris).
- ^ Fernández, F. and M.J. Sharkey (eds.) 2006. Introduction to the Hymenoptera of the Neotropical Region. Colombian Entomology Society and National University of Colombia, Bogotá DC, xxx + 894 pp.
- ^ Torrico-Bazoberry, Daniel & Muñoz, Matías (2019) High-frequency components in the distress stridulation of Chilean endemic velvet ants (Hymenoptera: Mutillidae). Revista Chilena de Entomología. 45. 5-13.
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