From – Wikipedia,
By – Vinuri Randhula Silva,
Euspinolia militaris,
sometimes referred to as the "Panda Ant".
Oh we can definitely see why...with this look. Panda Ant is a species of wasp in the family Mutillidae. Though
it is a wingless wasp. This
species was discovered in 1938, and inhabits the Chilean sclerophyll forests.
It has been referred to as the "panda ant" due to its coloration; with 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 8 millimeters in length. Panda Ants 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. Like other mutillids, during mating the males are presumed to
lift females and proceed to mate while airborne.
After mating, the female wasp goes underground to a bee or
wasp nest where the larvae from the growing Panda Ant, eats off of the host and
eventually kills it.
This
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
References
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.
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