Editing Velvet ant (section)

== Distribution ==
Mutillidae can be found worldwide with about 230 genera or subgenera and around 8,000 species worldwide. Over 400 species occur in the North American Southwest.<ref name="prev3"  />

North American Mutillidae have eight phenotypically distinct and geographically limited [[Müllerian mimicry]] rings (Desert, Eastern, Madrean, Texan, Red-headed ''Timulla'', Black-headed ''Timulla'', Tropical, and Western) making up one of the largest Müllerian mimicry complexes on the planet.<ref name="j14" /> These mimicry rings are the result of repeated convergent evolution of aposematic traits between co-occurring velvet ant species, rather than shared phylogenetic history.<ref>{{Cite journal|last1=Wilson|first1=Joseph S.|last2=Williams|first2=Kevin A.|last3=Forister|first3=Matthew L.|last4=von Dohlen|first4=Carol D.|last5=Pitts|first5=James P.|date=2012-12-11|title=Repeated evolution in overlapping mimicry rings among North American velvet ants|journal=Nature Communications|language=en|volume=3|issue=1|pages=1272|doi=10.1038/ncomms2275|pmid=23232402|issn=2041-1723|doi-access=free}}</ref> Through the evolution of [[Aposematism|aposematic]] traits in velvet ant species in the same ring, local predators have learned to avoid these well-defended wasps.