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Sphaeropthalma pensylvanica
A small velvet ant in the genus Sphaeropthalma.
Attracted to lights in my backyard. Deciduous forest nearby.
Spotted on Aug 3, 2023
Submitted on Aug 18, 2023
2 Comments
Thank you much John B. I was pretty excited to find this one which was my first. Their parasitic behavior is extremely interesting.
Hi Brian38,
of all the beautiful spottings you posted yesterday, this one is my absolute favourite. I often see velvet ants here in the Philippines (different genus, of course), but nearly always females. The males are obviously here, but much harder to find. I think I have only ever seen two males. I don't know if the males are hard to find where you are, but its just a great spotting.