Dasymutilla gloriosa

Photograph by Pete Moulton.

Photography contest, Honorable Mention.

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Dasymutilla_gloriosa – female thistledown velvet ant busily digging up the burrows of sand wasps along the bank of the Rio Salado north of Mesa. Mr. Moulton adds, “This isn’t an ant at all, but rather a wingless Mutillid wasp; and for all its cute fuzzy appearance, it’s reputed to be a ferocious stinger.”