Photo: Eastern Velvet Ant female - Dasymutilla occidentalis, Judy Gallagher
Judy Gallagher is an ASNV board member and a regular surveyor of local wildlife who also captures photos of what she sees, in particular the less common species.
Eastern Velvet Ant female - Dasymutilla occidentalis, Judy Gallagher
I first saw a Velvet Ant on a nature field trip many years ago. This gorgeous insect had two common names: Velvet Ant, which made me think of something I'd like to pet, and Cow Killer, which made me realize that I didn't want to pet it after all.
Velvet Ant - Trogaspidia species, not a local species, Judy Gallagher
The name Velvet Ant is a misnomer, although I am going to use it throughout this article. They are solitary wasps in the Mutillidae family, not ants. There are more than 7,000 species worldwide, at least 20 of which are found in our area. They have velvety hair, often red or orange, but sometimes less bright colors like black, white or silver. The red and orange colors are a warning to predators that their sting packs a punch, which is the reason for their other common name, Cow Killer. Velvet Ants rank high on the pain index for stings, but their sting is probably not painful enough to kill a cow. They have one of the longest stingers relative to body size in the insect world. Fortunately, they aren't aggressive, and their venom isn't very toxic.
Velvet Ants are parasitic, mostly on mature larvae of other solitary wasps or bees. The female enters the underground nest of the bee or wasp and lays eggs there. The Velvet Ant egg hatches, and the larva then eats the pupa, eggs or larva of the bee or wasp. The adults' external skeletons are unusually tough for an insect, which is helpful protection when invading the homes of other stinging wasps or bees. It also helps them to retain moisture. When they are alarmed, they produce a squeaking sound by scraping two parts of their abdomen together, which also warns off predators.
Eastern Velvet Ant male - Dasymutilla occidentalis, Judy Gallagher
Female Velvet Ants don't have wings, but the males do. The females emit chemical signals called pheromones to attract the male, and the males also can find a female by sight. Males and females of a species frequently look very different, and there are some species for which the male has not yet been determined because they look so dissimilar to the female. In some species, the males carry the female into the air when mating.
Eastern Velvet Ant male - Dasymutilla occidentalis - drinking water, Judy Gallagher
Adult Velvet Ants mostly feed on nectar or water, but they occasionally feed on larvae or adult insects.
Velvet Ant male - Dasymutilla species - licking Aphid "honeydew" off a leaf, Judy Gallagher
Here is a male Velvet Ant licking sweet aphid honeydew off a plant (above).
Velvet Ant female - Pseudomethoca simillima, Judy Gallagher
Many of the other Velvet Ant species in our area are small and not quite as brightly colored and hairy as the Eastern Velvet Ant. But they have the same lifestyle. In addition to the defenses mentioned earlier, they have a rounded body style, which makes it challenging to attack them because stings or bites glance off the abdomen rather than piercing it, and they run quite fast for their size, up to .5 kilometers per hour, speedy for an organism with such short legs. This makes them very challenging to photograph! And they produce smelly chemicals that warn other predators to stay away.
Checkered Beetle - Enoclerus rosmarus, Judy Gallagher
It is unsurprising that Velvet Ants, so well protected against predation, have mimics. When I took a picture of this Checkered Beetle (above), I was sure it was a Velvet Ant. But it's just another insect trying to pretend that it is not good to eat.
I like seeing Velvet Ants. Their presence means that there are ground-nesting bees or wasps nearby, and the presence of both predators and prey implies that the ecosystem is functioning. Just remember, look but don't touch!
View more of Judy’s Observations from Meadowood articles here.