''Dasymutilla satanas'', also known as Satan's velvet ant, is a

species A species () is often defined as the largest group of organisms in which any two individuals of the appropriate sexes or mating types can produce fertile offspring, typically by sexual reproduction. It is the basic unit of Taxonomy (biology), ...

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 the deserts of the

Great Basin The Great Basin () is the largest area of contiguous endorheic watersheds, those with no outlets to the ocean, in North America. It spans nearly all of Nevada, much of Utah, and portions of California, Idaho, Oregon, Wyoming, and Baja Californi ...

region of North America. The name is most likely a reference to the "hellish" deserts where it dwells. The females of this species are relatively large for the genus, comparable to the size of '' Dasymutilla magna'' or '' Dasymutilla sackenii'' females.

References

Mutillidae Insects described in 1928 Hymenoptera of North America Taxa named by Clarence E. Mickel {{Hymenoptera-stub