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Velvet Ant (Cow Killer)

common

Velvet Ant (Cow Killer)

Dasymutilla occidentalis

Habitat
Sandy fields & forest edges of southeastern North America
Body length
25 mm
Order
Hymenoptera · Mutillidae

Weird but real

It's not actually an ant. It's a wingless wasp with a sting infamous enough to be nicknamed 'cow killer'.

Why it's cool

Brilliant velvety red-orange with a sting on the Schmidt Pain Index second only to the bullet ant. Beautiful, vengeful.

Photographs

Female Dasymutilla occidentalis.
Judy Gallagher · CC BY 2.0 · source
Common Eastern Velvet Ant (Dasymutilla occidentalis)
Leila Dasher · CC BY 4.0 · source