User:BrycenWheeler/Dasymutilla occidentalis

Geographic Range
Dasymutilla occidentalis can be found worldwide, but are natives of North America.

Habitat preferences
Dasymutilla occidentalis live in environments such as pastures, meadows, fields, and forest edges in warm and dry climates. These insects cohabitate with ground nesting bees and wasps. Adults are mostly seen in the summer months.

Ecology
Dasymutilla occidentalis plays an ecological role as pollinators, parasites, and prey. Velvet ants may fall prey to insectivores like some toads and lizards, as well as some birds and small rodents. The insect may evade predators' by previously stated defense mechanisms, as well as their aposematic coloration. In defense, they may sting, the female velvet ants have a stronger sting than the males. Velvet ants are not known to predate on other animals as their diet primarily consists of nectar as adults. However, they do play a role as parasites, velvet ants will lay their eggs on larvae of other insects, once the egg hatches the velvet ant larvae will feed on the host larvae.

Economic Importance
Dasymutilla occidentalis have both negative and positive effects on humans and economics as a whole. Negatively, their is an injury to humans as the sting is painful. Positively, they are a topic of research. Their behaviors and adaptations are being studied. They also provide insight into parasitism and aposematic coloration. The larvae of dasymutilla occidentalis are parastic to bumblebees, bees are the worlds biggest source of pollination, this can be a concern if the parasitic velvet ant larvae take over a large portion of bees. However, dasymutilla occidentalis are not aggressive and their venom is not very toxic, overall this species poses no real threat to humans, animals, or our world beside a harmful sting and larvae affecting bees.