Identifying characteristics for the family Mutillidae include:
Females hairy and wingless, resembling ants, usually reddish or orangish
in color.
Males winged and with fewer hairs.
Additional information:
Females of this wingless wasp can inflict a painful sting. Handle with
care!
Larvae of most species are solitary ectoparasites of ground-nesting
bees and wasps.
References:
Page 344 and plate 15 in D. J. Borror and R. E. White. 1970. A Field Guide
to the Insects. Boston: Houghton Mifflin Co.
Page 379 in R. G. Bland and H. E. Jaques. 1978. How to Know the Insects,
3rd ed. Dubuque, Iowa: Wm. C. Brown Co. 409 p.
Page 734 in D. J. Borror, C. A. Triplehorn, and N. F. Johnson. 1989. An
Introduction to the Study of Insects, 6th ed. Philadelphia: Saunders College
Publishing. 875 p.
Page 592 in H. V. Daly, J. T. Doyen, and A. H. Purcell III. 1998. Introduction
to Insect Biology and Diversity, 2nd ed. Oxford University Press. 680 p.
