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
Yellow crazy ant were also more aggressive toward other ant species and explored their environments more. This is believed to show why the ants decline when deprived access to scale insects in the field, and confirm reduced honey dew will greatly reduce the ants ability to form super colonies. While controlling the yellow lac scale insect is expected to control the yellow crazy ant on Christmas Island, on mainland Australia it is thought this would not help. There are at least a dozen honey dew producing insects as well as extrafloral nectar from native acacia trees all of which fuel yellow crazy ants.