Pacific Velvet Ant vs Northeastern Beach Tiger Beetle

Side-by-side species comparison

Attribute Pacific Velvet Ant Northeastern Beach Tiger Beetle
Scientific Name Dasymutilla sackenii Habroscelimorpha dorsalis dorsalis
Order Hymenoptera Coleoptera
Family Mutillidae Cicindelidae
Size 10-16 mm 1-1.4 cm
Habitat Beaches & Coastal Beaches & Coastal
Diet Parasitoids Predators
Regions Western North America United States
Conservation Least Concern Endangered

Pacific Velvet Ant

A medium-sized velvet ant with orange and black coloring found along the Pacific coast of North America. It parasitizes ground-nesting bees and wasps.

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Did You Know?

Males are winged and look so different from the wingless females that they were originally described as separate species.

Northeastern Beach Tiger Beetle

A tiger beetle of Atlantic coast beaches from New England to Virginia. It nests in sandy beach habitat that is increasingly disturbed by human recreation.

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Did You Know?

Beach-nesting tiger beetles time their larval emergence to avoid high tides and storm surges.