Horse Chestnut Leafminer Parasitoid vs Red Velvet Ant

Side-by-side species comparison

Attribute Horse Chestnut Leafminer Parasitoid Red Velvet Ant
Scientific Name Pnigalio agraules Dasymutilla magnifica
Order Hymenoptera Hymenoptera
Family Eulophidae Mutillidae
Size 1-2 mm 12-20 mm
Habitat Underground Deserts & Drylands
Diet Parasitoids Nectar Feeders
Regions Europe, Asia Southwestern United States, Mexico
Conservation Least Concern Least Concern

Horse Chestnut Leafminer Parasitoid

A small metallic-green ectoparasitoid wasp that attacks leafminer larvae inside leaf mines. It has a broad host range across many leafminer species.

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Did You Know?

It is one of the few natural enemies that attacks the invasive horse chestnut leafminer in Europe.

Red Velvet Ant

A large, brilliantly red-haired velvet ant found in the arid regions of the American Southwest. Females are wingless and run rapidly across open ground.

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Did You Know?

Its exoskeleton is so tough that entomological pins often bend when researchers attempt to mount specimens.