Red Velvet Ant
I was looking online for what this awesome looking insect was called. I love ants and it looks like one but behaved like a wasp. It would move quickly with the abdomen upright. I saw everyones pictures and sure now that this is what it is. It was difficult to photograph because of its irratic movements.
Daniel

Hi Daniel,
Your Velvet Ant is a Cow Killer, Dasymutilla occidentalis. Obviously, the quality of your photographs must rise with the level of difficulty, since the detail on your photograph is awesome.

What is it?
Hello!
I was playing with my toddler in the living room, and this little guy stung me on the hand. I haven’t been able to identify him, and wondered if you could help? We live in Middle Tennessee. I didn’t see it at first, but felt a sudden burning sensation in my hand. A short investigation revealed this critter under a sofa pillow. It’s behavior reminds me of a wasp though there are no wings. It actually moves much like a velvet ant we saw a few weeks ago, but isn’t as large nor as brilliantly colored. The abdomen is yellow and black striped with a red head and thorax. I apologize for the graininess of the pictures! Thanks!
H Davis

Hi H.,
This is most definitely a Velvet Ant which explains the Wasp-like behavior. We cannot determine the species, or even the genus, since the quality of the image is not real sharp. Our first inclination is that it might be in the genus Timulla, but it even resembles some members of the genus Dasymutilla.

Update: (04/02/2008) ID for insects
Hey, my name is Will, this is a list of the ID’s for the velvet ant page. image 11. is definitely Timulla. hope this helps a bit.

Update: Velvet Ant
(07/21/2008) Timulla grotei
Finally! After you helped me identify the species of velvet ant that stung me one summer despite my poor photo, it has been my mission in life to get a better quality photo of Timulla grotei if you should want it. After many failed attempts at phographing this fast-moving wasp, I finally got a lady who was relatively still for my camera. She didn’t smile and insisted on waving those antennae, but here she is… and no stings this time.
Heather

Hi Heather,
While we are impressed with your determination, and honored that you felt it was important enough to provide What’s That Bug? with a sharper image, we think you have set too low a goal for your life’s mission. Now that this milestone has been accomplished, we are confident you will accomplish truly great things. Thanks again for providing us with a clear image of Timulla grotei from Tennessee.

Bug…unknown
Bugman,
I am not sure if I sent the first one correctly. Here are the photo’s of a very strange looking bug. I am not sure if it is an ant,beetle or some kind of wingless bee? Is a bug in it’s developing stage? Will it morph later on? I live in the high desert. Hesperia, CA. I found it while rock hunting around my area. Please help me identify this bug. Thank you for any information.
Leanora

Hi Leanora,
This is a Thistledown Velvet Ant, a flightless female wasp reputed to have a very painful sting. Males of the species are smaller and winged. Your photo is quite surreal.

Correction: (07/02/2007)
Hi, Daniel: Great job, as usual, with all the IDs and postings. Only one correction. Pretty sure the “thistledown velvet ant” posted is actually Sacken’s velvet ant, Dasymutilla sackeni. Thistledown velvet ants (D. gloriosa) have much longer hairs, and are bright white, not “dirty white” as this specimen is. Sacken’s velvet ant is one of the more common species in California. Great detective work by everyone on the male crevice spider! The angle of the image managed to camouflage those incredible pedipalps, which are a hallmark for ID of the males. The opening post for the “bug of the month” is also great, as it demonstrates what a great service you are providing in alleviating irrational fears of insects and spiders. I am overjoyed to hear of someone befriending a cicada killer instead of finding a big shoe….:-) Keep up the wonderful crusade, my friend. Sincerely,
Eric Eaton

beetle with white hair?
Hi Bugman,
I live in Corona, CA (borders Riverside) and found this beetle looking creature – actually my dog was following it around curiously – in my back yard. When it is scampering to get away, it makes a cute little squeaky noise. The hair on it’s back seems about 5 – 10 mm long, pretty fuzzy! Would love to know what it is, and what it eats! I’m going to let it go in a couple of days. Thanks,
Rich
Corona, CA

Hi Rich,
This Velvet Ant, a flightless female wasp that packs a wallop of a sting.

Update: (04/02/2008) ID for insects
Hey, my name is Will, this is a list of the ID’s for the velvet ant page. image 14. Dasymutilla sackeni. hope this helps a bit.

Bugs identification…
Hi, I work as webmaster in small new Zoo, at Puerto Vallarta Mexico. I like a lot insect so in my free time I go around in dry jungle here to observe plants and discover insects I have never seen! Well so i have found this little creatures, hope you could identify them. I think the first one is a velvet ant (cow killer) , does this animal really sting to kill a man or a cow¡? I didnt have my macro at that time so the pics are not really good. … I will aprecciate your answer, and it will be really grate to understand the behavior of this little amazing creatures of the low level world =) Thank you.
Christian V.

Hi Christian,
We are happy to get your Velvet Ant photo. Its markings are very different from any other photos we have received. The sting of a Velvet Ant is very painful, but will not kill a person or a cow unless there are extenuating circumstances like allergies. We don’t know what your caterpillar is, but it sounds like it might have been parasitized, which interfered with the normal life cycle.

Update: (04/02/2008) ID for insects
Hey, my name is Will, this is a list of the ID’s for the velvet ant page. image 17. Dasymutilla sp. hope this helps a bit.

White fuzzy/hair insect — what is it?
Hi, Daniel!
Despite quite a bit of searching around on your great site, I didn’t find an image anything like this (although I confess that I don’t have any idea where to start). My wife and I recently visited the Palomar Observatory in the NE San Diego County mountains, where we saw this critter on one of the walkways. I would have liked to get a better photo, but it turned, I think defensively, to avoid a head-on shot. It’s not real big — maybe 3/4". What is it? And is the white fuzz/hair normal? Thanks!
Dave

Hi Dave,
We noticed you wrote back to us to say you had identified your Velvet Ant on our site before we had a chance to respond. You photo is beautiful. Someone once described this flightless female was as resembling David Bowie. We have a long history of misidentifying what we have thought was the Thistledown Velvet Ant, but this is another species in the genus Dasymutilla.