Mutillidae durable, the exoskeleton is also round, making it more difficult for predators to pierce it with attempted stings or bites. During all the trials that led to the fracture of a velvet ant’s exoskeleton, a total of 4 times, resulted in the death of that velvet ant within 24 hours. Thus aside from protection from predators, the exoskeleton provides a function maintaining moisture control. Male mutillids fly in search of females; after mating, the female enters a host insect nest, typically a ground-nesting bee or wasp burrow, and deposits one egg near each larva or pupa. Only a few species
Insect Queen (DC Comics) the latter's mind was housed within a gigantic ant, until she was saved by the Earth-2 Superman and his wife Lois Lane. Later, she became an occasional superhero, aiding Superman on at least one occasion. Note that in the reality changed by the Crisis on Infinite Earths, Lana never became either Insect Queen. In the new continuity created by the events chronicled in "Infinite Crisis", a new Insect Queen has been introduced. She is an insectoid alien who first appears in "Superman" #671-673 (2008). In a nod towards the Silver Age continuity this alien Insect Queen has remade herself in