Red Velvet Ant, "Cow Killer" (Dasymutilla occidentalis) | Project Noah

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Photo by whitetailsp

Published on Project Noah

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28.2243, -82.6523

Field Notes

Description:

These insects are wasps, not ants. Females are wingless and covered with dense hair, superficially resembling ants. The red velvet-ant is the largest velvet-ant species, reaching about 3/4 inch in length. They are black overall with patches of dense orange-red hair on the thorax and abdomen. Males are similar but have wings and can not sting.

Habitat:

Mouthparts are for chewing. Lone females can be found crawling on the ground, particularly in open sandy areas. Adults are most common during the warm summer months. Larvae are solitary, external parasites of developing bumble bees.

Notes:

http://insects.tamu.edu/fieldguide/cimg344.html

Species ID Suggestions

Comments (9)

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Photo taken with iPhone4

Note: it WAS definetely hairy!

Gina9210, thanks for the positive ID! I will probably use this app more often!

Try It still Mutillidae but its Pseudomethoca frigida.

it seems has hair on the pics? it seems this one still juvenile. any help from your side?

still an ants! but it's called dasymutilla occidentalis

Sorry for the double post. Welcome to Project Noah! I look forward to your pictures as we live in the same region.

Don't know, but I like it! Nice shot.

Don't know, but I like it! Nice shot.

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