ArticleEcology and evolution2018
The indestructible insect: Velvet ants from across the United States avoid predation by representatives from all major tetrapod clades.
Article in Ecology and evolution, 2018. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 12 papers.
What it found
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The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.
The trial behind it
Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.
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Who cites it
12 citing papers in PubMed.
- Evolutionary Drivers of Conspicuous Spots in Velvet Ants (Hymenoptera:Ecology and evolution · 2025Article
- Multiple mechanisms of action for an extremely painful venom.Current biology : CB · 2025Article
- Multiple mechanisms of action of an extremely painful venom.bioRxiv : the preprint server for biology · 2024Article
- Ultrablack color in velvet ant cuticle.Beilstein journal of nanotechnology · 2024Article
- Antipredatory strategies of terrestrial isopods.ZooKeys · 2022Review
- Southeast Asian clearwing moths buzz like their model bees.Frontiers in zoology · 2021Article
- Venom chemistry underlying the painful stings of velvet ants (Hymenoptera: Mutillidae).Cellular and molecular life sciences : CMLS · 2021Article
- Thistledown velvet ants in the Desert Mimicry Ring and the evolution of white coloration: Müllerian mimicry, camouflage and thermal ecology.Biology letters · 2020Article
- Article
- A sting affair: A global quantitative exploration of bee, wasp and ant hosts of velvet ants.PloS one · 2020Review
- The indestructible insect: Velvet ants from across the United States avoid predation by representatives from all major tetrapod clades.Ecology and evolution · 2018Article
- Article
Corrections and comments
PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.
Authors and funding
6 authors.
Funding
No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.
Abstract
Velvet ants are a group of parasitic wasps that are well known for a suite of defensive adaptations including bright coloration and a formidable sting. While these adaptations are presumed to function in antipredator defense, observations between potential predators and this group are lacking. We conducted a series of experiments to determine the risk of velvet ants to a host of potential predators including amphibians, reptiles, birds, and small mammals. Velvet ants from across the United States were tested with predator's representative of the velvet ants native range. All interactions between lizards, free-ranging birds, and a mole resulted in the velvet ants survival, and ultimate avoidance by the predator. Two shrews did injure a velvet ant, but this occurred only after multiple failed attacks. The only predator to successfully consume a velvet ant was a single American toad (
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Registered trials
Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the OpenQuestion graph.