Velvet Ants (or Cow Ants): Mutillidae
Trail hikers adapted to North American sandy trails often keep an eye out for the color bodies of native velvet ants.
Their interesting biological background makes them a popular wasp family (Mutillidae) to document among insect enthusiasts.
| Types of Wasps and Bees Types of Bees Wasps |
The female appearance explains the common name, Velvet Ants.
The top picture shows a fuzzy, wingless insect that resembles a large ant.
Sixteen Mutillidae genera live on North American soil, especially sandy soils. Population levels peak during the summer season and female nest building.
Dasymutilla, the largest genus, with some fifty species, can be tough to identify. The top picture might show dasymutilla lepeletierii.
The red body signals danger, and the sting of many species is described as one of the most painful stings in the wasp family.
Speaking of stings, the Cow Killer perhaps the most recognized velvet ant, often makes the wasp legend list.
Sometimes the name Cow Killer is used loosely to apply to any one of the fifty or so native Dasymutilla species.
Used in a stricter sense, the Cow Killer refers to a single species, Dasymutilla occidentalis, and the name come from the story that the sting of the wingless female is so severe that it could kill a cow.
It's a fairly large species that inhabits the sandy soils of the Southeast and Midwest. The top picture shows a wingless female at about a 3x magnification.
The bottom picture shows a winged male that is almost scaled to size.
Smaller male velvet ants with wings look similar in appearance to many winged ant species. While not particularly problematic, homeowners in velvet ant habitat experiencing an episode of flying ant problems might also want to check the swarm for for evidence of flying velvet ants.
Homeowners need not be especially concerned with velvet ant populations on their property.
Most adult species have diets similar to many other wasp species, water and flower nectar. Most species are also parasitic nesters that invest time during the day to search out other ground wasp nest sites, lay their eggs and allow their young to develop using the host wasp larvae as food.
© 2009-2012 Patricia A. Michaels