![]() ![]() ![]() The bright colors that the female velvet ants boast are thought to be a warning to potential predators. ![]() Male velvet ants are similar to females, but they have wings and can fly.ĭue to their nomadic nature, the female ants use many defenses to travel long distances in search of food, a mate, and a place to lay eggs. Females can be found traversing the ground in erratic motions as they forage for food. The female velvet ant is the one that most resembles an ant, as she has no wings and is a ground dweller. They are solitary parasitic wasps that do not build nests or live in colonies. The velvet ant is one of the most misidentified and misunderstood insects on the planet. You definitely shouldn’t try to handle them, and you should always watch for them in your yard during the summer months. 4 on the insect sting pain index, making it one of the most painful stings in the world. This solitary creature has a vicious sting so painful that it weighs in at a No. Particular creatures on this planet just shouldn’t be messed with, and the velvet ant is one of them. The sting of velvet ants has earned this ferocious insect the nickname “cow killer.” When encountering one of these little critters, the best thing to do is go in another direction and stay out of its path.Īlthough velvet ants don’t usually cause any significant issues on your property, if you or your family have the unfortunate experience of provoking them, it often doesn’t end well. Special NotesĬalifornia has about 100 species of velvet ants, most of which are nocturnal and live in the desert.If you happen to come across a velvet ant, let it be! These insects have one of the most intensely painful stings of any species around the world. Usually they do not reach pest status, although they may occasionally invade residences. ConservationĬowkillers are not on the IUCN Red List or any lists maintained by US or state agencies. It prevents water loss and also supplies protection form predators, especially from stings of host wasps in burrows that a nesting female is invading. The exoskeleton of these wasps is like an armor plate. The curved needle-like stinger concealed at the tip of the abdomen is nearly as long as their abdomen and because of its length and maneuverability it can be directed at quite an angle from the abdomen. Adaptationįemale cowkillers have a very efficient and powerful stinging apparatus. This genus, unlike many other velvet ants that are nocturnal, is active from sunrise to sunset. Those seen flying low over the ground are all males. Velvet ants seen walking on sand are all females. When the egg hatches, the larvae feed on either the mature host larva or the pupa of the host. The female velvet ant enters the host’s nest, puncture’s the host’s cocoon, and lays one egg. After mating, females seek nesting chambers of bees and other wasps. Males fly low over the ground searching for females that they find using sight and smell to detect the pheromones that females secrete. DietĪdult cowkiller ants primarily feed on nectar but they will also eat larvae and adult insects, such as flies, beetles, bees, and other wasps. The largest velvet ant species, cowkillers are 15-25 mm (0.6-1 in) long. The thorax and abdomen of these wasps are red above and covered with short red hairs. Males have transparent black wings and females are wingless. They have a hard exoskeleton that is shed periodically. There is a slight constriction between the two. The body of cowkiller ants consists of two parts, a thorax and abdomen. These velvet ants live in meadows, clover fields, at forest edges, and deserts. ![]() Western US: to Missouri, Texas, and Arizona Habitat Geographic DistributionĮastern US: New York to Florida. They are no longer on display at the Aquarium. CLIMATE CHANGE: Not Applicable At the Aquarium ![]()
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