9/12/2023 0 Comments Red velvet ant stingBe sure to teach kids about what they look like and why they shouldn’t pick them up. The best advice is to avoid them, and look at them from afar. While not that quite that potent, it does rank a 3 out of 4 on the sting pain scale developed by Dr. This insect can inflict an extremely painful sting, so powerful it can kill a cow, according to urban legend. In particular, children can make this mistake. Other types of velvet ants may attack the nests of solitary wasps, such as the cicada killer.īecause of their interesting coloration, their fuzzy hair, and cute squeaks, some people want to handle the velvet ant. They hatch and then devour the baby bumble bees alive. After mating, the female will seek out a nest of bumble bees (usually the Southern plains bumble bee) and lay their eggs on the bumble bee brood. As adults, they drink nectar from flowers but have a unique way of raising their young. ![]() They can be found near meadows, on forest edges, in fields, and in lawns. They are also famous for “squeaking” when they feel threatened. In Kentucky, the most commonly inquired about velvet ant is the red velvet ant, also known by the colorful nickname “the cow killer.” This species ( Dasymutilla occidentalis) has contrasting red and black coloration (maybe they’re Louisville fans) that highlights their potential danger. With velvet ants, males have wings and are capable of flight while females are wingless. As a group, they exhibit sexual dimorphism, meaning that the male and female look quite different from one another. Their family name is Mutillidae and there are about 8,000 species of them worldwide. Their name is a bit of a misnomer though they are not actually ants at all but are wasps. Velvet ants produce a squeaking sound when disturbed.Velvet ants are striking insects they are memorable and interesting due to their fuzzy appearance and bright coloration. People are most often stung when they step on a velvet ant while barefoot. Although the wasps look cuddly, don’t pick one up. On rare occasions, a velvet ant may wander into a home during the summer months. But you may find a number of velvet ants where there have been large colonies of ground-nesting bees. They’re solitary wasps and do not live in colonies. You usually only see one velvet ant at a time. Some species are thought to dig nests in soil and provision them with insects for their larvae, while others reportedly prey on honey bees. Her larvae then feed on the pupae of those bees or wasps. They’re generally considered to be beneficial because the female lays her eggs in the nests of ground-nesting bees and wasps. They’re found outdoors, mostly in dry, open sandy areas (the same areas where you find ground bees) where they run erratically on the ground. Velvet ants are most common in southern and western states, but they do occasionally occur in our Northeast area. Adults can be fairly large, up to 7/8 inch long. They’re similar in coloration and fuzziness to wooly bear caterpillars but pack a lot more wallop if handled. ![]() Velvet ants are usually a combination of orange, red and black hairs in bands. The female velvet ant attracts attention, especially from kids, because she is colorful and fuzzy. ![]() The male velvet ant has wings, is rarely seen, and doesn’t sting. The velvet ant is shaped like an ant but is really a wingless female wasp. The velvet ant is sometimes called the “cow killer” because it was thought its sting could kill a cow! The sting can’t kill a cow or a human, and it’s not poisonous, but it sure hurts like heck. Like other wasps, it has a stinger and can inflict a painful sting. Why shouldn’t you touch a velvet ant? Because, despite its name, it’s not an ant at all, it’s a wasp. Don’t Touch the Velvet Ant! By Chris Williams on February 2, 2012.
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