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Orientidia manleyi Williams, 2019
Kiến Nhung Viễn Đông Oriental Velvet Ant Aka Modkhong Orientidia manleyi Williams, 2019 Mutillidae Female, Length 07 mm Sa-đéc Vietnam, 2021.11.24 samsung SM-N9208
Spotted on Nov 24, 2021
Submitted on Nov 27, 2021
2 Comments
pramod.mitikiri, thanks.
You're right, it's a female.
That ant looks amazing, but also very scary at the same time! So the red patch of color on the ant are probably visual signs (aposematic signaling) for predators to stay away from. I also read that they can actually excrete "foul-smelling" chemicals as well (with a painful sting) in case of defense too.
I think this insect is specifically a female ant according to this website:
https://www.allgoodservices.com/pest-inf...