''Dasymutilla foxi'' is a species of

velvet ant Velvet ants (Mutillidae) are a family (biology), family of more than 7,000 species of wasps whose wingless females resemble large, hairy ants. Their common name velvet ant refers to their resemblance to an ant, and their dense pile of hair, whic ...

found in Mexico and the southwestern United States. ''Dasymutilla foxi'' is locally common, and "

seta In biology, setae (; seta ; ) are any of a number of different bristle- or hair-like structures on living organisms. Animal setae Protostomes Depending partly on their form and function, protostome setae may be called macrotrichia, chaetae, ...

l coloration is highly variable; each of the body segments varies from whitish to reddish, and most eastern populations (Colorado, Kansas, Texas) have a black setal patch on the

mesosoma The mesosoma is the middle part of the body, or tagma, of arthropods whose body is composed of three parts, the other two being the prosoma and the metasoma. It bears the legs, and, in the case of winged insects, the wings. Wasps, bees and a ...

." This species was first described by entomologist Theodore D. A. Cockerell and is named for . ''Dasymutilla phoenix'' and ''Dasymutilla dugesii'' have been synonymized with this species. According to C. E. Mickel in 1928, "The females vary in size from 5 to 11 mm...A note on two of the specimens collected by Cockerell states that this species is

parasitic Parasitism is a close relationship between species, where one organism, the parasite, lives (at least some of the time) on or inside another organism, the host, causing it some harm, and is adapted structurally to this way of life. The ent ...

in the nests of ''

Diadasia ''Diadasia'' is a genus of bees in the family Apidae. Its species are oligolectic, specialized on a relatively small number of plant species. Their host plants include asters, bindweeds, cacti, mallows, and willowherbs, although mallows are ...

'' species."

References

Insects described in 1894 Hymenoptera of North America Mutillidae {{Hymenoptera-stub