European Velvet Ant vs Cotesia Glomerata Wasp

Side-by-side species comparison

Attribute European Velvet Ant Cotesia Glomerata Wasp
Scientific Name Mutilla europaea Cotesia glomerata
Order Hymenoptera Hymenoptera
Family Mutillidae Braconidae
Size 10-15 mm 2-3 mm
Habitat Heathland Farmland
Diet Parasitoids Parasitoids
Regions Europe Europe, Asia, North America, Australia
Conservation Least Concern Least Concern

European Velvet Ant

A robust wingless wasp with black and orange-red banding and dense velvety hair. Females enter bumblebee nests to lay eggs on their pupae.

💡

Did You Know?

It is one of the few insects that specifically targets bumblebee nests, sneaking in while the colony is less active.

Cotesia Glomerata Wasp

A small gregarious parasitoid wasp that attacks cabbage white butterfly caterpillars. Dozens of larvae develop inside a single host.

💡

Did You Know?

Up to 60 wasp larvae can emerge from a single caterpillar, spinning yellow cocoons around the dying host.