Muskovits József - György Zoltán - Ábrahám Levente (szerk.): Magyarország hangyadarazsai - Natura Somogyiensis 18. (Kaposvár, 2011)
Overview of literature
MAGYARORSZÁG HANGYADARAZSAI - VELVET ANTS OF HUNGARY (MUTILLIDAE) 101 not really useful for catching velvet ants, but on occasions male specimens are known to have been acquired in Malaise-traps, light-traps or nets installed on top of a car. Only males of Physetopoda halensis were collected by light-traps. For the purpose of identification specimens have to be mounted so that all identifying characters (mandibles, antennae, clypeus, metasomal segments, pygidium, etc.) are clearly visible. Opening wide of mandibles makes the identification much easier. In case of the males wings should not cover the metasoma entirely, but they should be arranged next to the metasoma at least at an angle of 45° with respect to the longitudinal axis of the body. Venation of the forewing can be an identification character. The examination of the ventral part of metasoma may often be required where various protrusions may be located. Therefore it is essential that the base of metasomal segments 1 and 2 should be left clearly visible, that is no glue should cover it. This is no problem if the specimen is held on insect pin. The card-mounted specimens have to be glued on appropriately, or else it has to be taken off by soaking. Male genitalia has to be frequently examined. For this purpose the genitalia should be pulled out of the softened specimen's metasoma using a fine needle. The examination of the entire genitalia is often insufficient. For more detailed examination the organ has to be bleached. This can be achieved by boiling the organ in dilute solution of caustic potash (potassium hydroxide) for a short time, then the organ is rinsed should be rinsed in water and placed in glycerine. Occasionally further dissection is required. The genitalia must be made visible from all angles, therefore embedding it into Canadian balsam is not really a good method. The prepared genitalia should be kept in a vial (e.g. plastic tube) in glycerine. Overview of litarature LINNAEUS (1758) established the genus Mutilla ; among the listed species there are two that occur also in Hungary. (Their valid names are Mutilla europaea and Dasylahris maura.) The Latin word mutilus means „cut", „sliced", „mutilated", referring to the apterous females. Of European entomologists the following paid attention also to velvet ants: PALLAS (1771, 1773), FABRICIUS (1775, 1787, 1793), LATREILLE (1792, 1802, 1805), KLUG (1829, 1835), B AER (1848), C OSTA (1858-1860), R ADOSZKOWSKI (1865, 1866, 1885, 1888), ANDRÉ (1899-1903), SKORIKOV (1935), HOFFER (1936, 1938), GINER MAR! (1944), SUAREZ (1952, 1988), NONVEILLER (1963, 1979), NAGY (1966, 1967, 1968a, b) INVREA (1964), PETERSEN (1988), LELEJ (1985, 2002, 2004), LELEJ & SCHMID-EGGER (2005). DALLA TORRE (1897) and later ANDRÉ (1899-1903) compiled the first important catalogues and identification keys. By the beginning of the 20th century, nearly 2000 species were described. GINER MARÍ (1944) published a monograph on velvet ants of Spain and INVREA (1964) on velvets ants of Italy that included also identification keys. LELEJ & SCHMID-EGGER (2005) provided identification keys and short descriptions of
