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Red Velvet Ant

Photo by QuigCrew
Published on Project Noah
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28.1799, -80.9127

Field Notes

Description:

About an inch long. Golden body w shiny hair-like covering.

Habitat:

Sandy grassy field in central Florida.

Notes:

About an inch long.
Learned from comments that it's also called a "cowkiller" for its painful sting!

Species ID Suggestions

Cowkiller or Red Velvet Ant

Dasymutilla occidentalis

Reference Link
LisaPowers
3

Comments (2)
QuigCrew
yikes...thanks for the heads up. will keep my distance.
freelancing
Definitely a cowkiller ant. We have them in our yard in Texas. Do NOT touch them with your hands! This is a female flightless wasp that has a sting so painful, it got it's name "cowkiller" because folks said it was strong enough to kill a cow. I've known someone who was stung by one and he concurred that it was incomprehensible pain. You've probably seen them run really really fast - hard to catch and very non-aggressive. I've seen these species have varied stripe and spot variations.
Photographed
PublishedOctober 31, 2011

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