Spotted this little guy while photographing markers at Mt. Sherman Cemetery.
Red Velvet Ant or Cow Killer
They are actually wingless wasps, not ants and have a very painful sting. 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.
whoa...scary. i'm terrified of ants. even though it's actually a wasp i wouldn't want to meet one of these.
ReplyDeleteI've seen these little buggers before. Like most things of the 8-legged nature...they creep me out! LOL Nice photo though! ;)
ReplyDeleteI just smashed one near my shed tonight. I've seen a few over the years.
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