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
Tupolev ANT-35 Tupolev ANT-35 The Tupolev ANT-35 was a 1930s Soviet twin-engined light transport monoplane that entered service with Aeroflot in 1937 as the Tupolev PS-35. First flown on the 20 August 1936, the ANT-35 was a twin-engined all-metal low-wing monoplane with conventional landing gear with retractable mainwheels. The prototype was powered by two 597 kW (800 hp) Gnome-Rhone 14K radial engines which were later replaced with Tumansky M-85 engines, which were Gnome-Rhone 14K's built under license. An improved version, the ANT-35bis, was powered by two 746 kW (1,000 hp) Shvetsov M-62IR engines. The type entered service with Aeroflot from 1937 and