Dasymutilla vestita
In 3 days ~10% in a week ~30%
Dasymutilla vestita is a species of wasp belonging to the velvet ant Family, the Mutillidae. As in all the family, the females are wingless and look like very large, hairy ants, while males are winged and look like regular wasps. Beyond that, here are features helping with the identification of Dasymutilla vestita:
They are strikingly red and black. From above they look all red, except for black legs, the narrow mid-section, eyes and antennae. From the side they look all red on top except for the mid-section, and all black below. There is a definite, narrow constriction between the hind section, the metasoma, and the middle section, or mesosoma.
Body length is about 9.5 mm long. In Canada Dasymutilla vestita occurs in the provinces of Alberta and Saskatchewan. In the USA it is found throughout the western states as far east as Arkansas and Texas. In Mexico it is seen in the drier parts of the northern, eastern and central states south into Oaxaca, but is absent from the Yucatan Peninsula. In the USA it is regarded as one of the most common and widespread velvet ant species.
In the southwestern USA, Dasymutilla vestita has been recognized... Wikipedia →
| # | Park | Country | Daily sighting probability |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Zion National Park | 🇺🇸 United States | |
| 2 | Grand Canyon National Park | 🇺🇸 United States | |
| 3 | Big Bend National Park | 🇺🇸 United States | |
| 4 | Grand Teton National Park | 🇺🇸 United States | |
| 5 | Yellowstone National Park | 🇺🇸 United States | |
| 6 | Rocky Mountain National Park | 🇺🇸 United States |
Rare
Under 5% of wildlife watchers report a Dasymutilla vestita sighting in Rocky Mountain National Park on a given day, based on 5 verified sightings from GBIF citizen-science data from 2019 to 2026. It is the 172nd most-seen of the 191 insects we can rate there. Over three days the chance rises to about 10%, and over a week to about 30%, if each day is a fresh chance.
June and September
In those months about 10% of wildlife watchers report a Dasymutilla vestita in Rocky Mountain National Park on a given day, against under 5% in July–August and October–May, the lowest months.
Between 3 and 6 pm
Across all the parks we cover, that three-hour window holds the most Dasymutilla vestita sightings with a recorded time, and about 8 in 10 of them come between 6 am and 6 pm: it is a daytime animal.
6th of 6
Of the 6 parks where we can rate Dasymutilla vestita sightings, Rocky Mountain National Park ranks 6th at under 5%. The best odds are in Zion National Park (United States, about 20%), Grand Canyon National Park (United States, about 10%) and Big Bend National Park (United States, about 10%).
Same order: Hymenoptera
The closest relatives of the Dasymutilla vestita that you can see in Rocky Mountain National Park (order Hymenoptera, Ants, Bees, Wasps, and Sawflies) are Hunt's Bumble Bee (about 10%), Nevada Bumble Bee (about 10%) and Colorado Black-Notched Bumble Bee (about 10%), with each one's daily chance of a sighting.
GBIF citizen-science records
It is estimated from how often the Dasymutilla vestita is recorded against all the insects logged in Rocky Mountain National Park (5 verified sightings from 2019 to 2026), calibrated against known sighting rates. Figures are rounded to the nearest 10% because citizen-science data supports honest approximations, not decimals, and months with records from fewer than five people show "—". How it works.
