Ever seen one of these?
Six legs, but no elbowed antennae. Haven’t been able to find it on the internet.
Doug
Hi Doug,
Once we tell you this is a type of Velvet Ant commonly called a Cowkiller, you should be able to find thousands of images online. We have an entire page devoted to Velvet Ants since we have gotten so many identification requests. When you don’t know a name, the best way to use a search engine like Google is with a short description. As a test, we tried “ant red and black furry” and “ant red and black fuzzy” and both immediately led us to our own What’s That Bug? Velvet Ant page as well as numerous other correct internet sites. We are baffled as to why you came up blank.
¶
Posted 10 August 2006
§
‡
°
What is this huge ant thing
Found this thing crossing my driveway. What is it and should I be worried. Tried to get a better picture with no luck. Maybe you can zoom in on it. It looks like a huge ant body , but it is red and black and furry. Help!!!!
Sheri in North Carolina
Hi Sheri,
The Velvet Ant is actually a flightless female wasp. Her sting is reputedly painful enough to kill a cow, hence the common name Cow Killer.
¶
Posted 05 August 2006
§
‡
°
Red and black Ant? Or ????
We just moved from Florida to Georgia. Now in Florida we do have a lot of extreme bugs, but this is one that we have NEVER seen. It looks like a red and black ant, but it’s fuzzy and huge!!!!!!! It doesn’t look like it has any wings at all, we thought maybe they fell off or the bug was injured. We live in South Georgia about an hour out of Atlanta. Any help identifying this bug and letting us know if it is harmful to us or plant or any info would be helpful!!! Thanks
Flustered in Georgia
Peggy
Hi Peggy,
This flightless female wasp is commonly known as a Velvet Ant or Cow Killer. She is not harmful, but has a very painful sting. Don’t bother her and she won’t bother you.
¶
Posted 30 July 2006
§
‡
°
Scary Hissing Ant!
Last year, I ran across a very strange bug. It looked like a giant fuzzy ant with orange and black stripes and it made a strange hissing noise when I bothered it. Naturally, I backed off! You never know which bugs could bite!
Kasey White
Bloom of the Moon
Hi Kasey,
It is well that you backed off. This is a Velvet Ant, a flightless female wasp that is commonly called a Cow Killer, and she stings like the dickens. Eric Eaton add: “Velvet ants can ’squeak’ by rapidly rubbing their abdominal segments against one another, which might account for the “hissing” sound the submitter mentioned. Between the warning colors and the noise, you’d be foolish to pick one up”
¶
Posted 23 April 2006
§
‡
°
Red Velvet Ant
I know firsthand why they call this THE COW KILLER. Last September, I stepped across a potted plant on my porch and my foot was attacked by a "ball of biters". It immediately felt like I had stepped into a bed of coals. This intense pain lasted for about five minutes and then was replaced by a horrible achy pain that lasted for two weeks along with intense itching and swelling. For several months, my foot would swell up, ache and itch repeatedly for no reason. Even now, six months later, I still have reoccurring symptoms. Sometimes my foot feels like I have arthritis in it. Beautiful little critter, but wicked!!
Patty
¶
Posted 24 March 2006
§
‡
°
Ant or Wasp? Or just plain mean?
This little guy stung my 6 year old here in Austin, TX. It’s approximately 1 cm long. When we first caught it, we could see what looks like a stinger at the end of its abdomen, but you can’t see that in the pictures. What makes me wonder if it’s a juvenile of something is that the abdomen has a distinct line where the exoskeleton ends and a soft, fuzzy part protrudes. Any help would be appreciated! (We’ve already had wasp swarms due to Japanese Beetles and a group of bees setting up housekeeping in our walls. I’d like to know what to be prepared for next!)
Thank you!
Kathy Blankenship
I totally forgot to add the weird part. When we caught this thing and were trying to take pictures of it, it made a very distinct buzzing sound.
Hi Kathy,
This is actually both an ant and a wasp. This insect is commonly known as a Velvet Ant, but in reality it is a flightless female wasp whose sting is very painful. The good news is they are solitary and do not exhibit social behavior.
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 26. sphaeropthalma pensylvanica. hope this helps a bit.
¶
Posted 05 March 2006
§
‡
°
Bugman! Help! She/he’s a beauty! What is it?!
Bugman (or woman):
My girlfriend and I came across this (pic attached) amazing orange creature while hiking around the Little Grand Canyon in the Shawnee National Forest, which is located in Jackson County, Illinois. It sort of ambled about in a friendly way on the ground while we took pix and followed. I didn’t touch him; I just held my finger there in the photo for scale. This really was a gorgeous bug — his orange and black hairs were amazing! Later that day, while out on a rock outcropping overlooking the canyon, we also saw GIGANTIC wasp with a pretty cool, long, drape-y ovipositor. Is that what it’s called? She gave us a bit of a start, coming out of nowhere and heading straight for us! Anyway, can you help us identify this little orange fuzzy friend? Thanks a lot!
Dillon and Claudia
Hi Dillon and Claudia,
She is a Velvet Ant, a flightless female wasp reputed to have a painful sting, hence the common name of Cow Killer as the sting is supposedly painful enough to kill a cow. The other wasp you saw may have been a Giant Ichneumon.
¶
Posted 27 January 2006
§
‡
°
Tiger like ant?
I found this guy in my yard. He is about an inch or a little more long. I have searched and searched but can’t find out what it is. Can you help? Thank you.
Carla Finley,
Venice, FL
Hi Carla,
Your ant is actually a flightless female wasp known as a Velvet Ant or Cow Killer. The sting is reported to be very painful.
¶
Posted 15 January 2006
§
‡
°
Never seen this bug before
Hi!
I’ve looked over many pages on your site and just haven’t seen anything quite like this. It’s possible I just didn’t click on the right link to find this bug, but I figured it couldn’t hurt to ask anyway. My mother and I own a house in Quail Valley, CA, and we see this bug appear every now-and-then in our front yard. My Mom says she thinks it kind of looks like an ant, I say it looks like a beetle. Either way, this thing is weird! Bright red and dark black – hairy all over. It’s about an inch and a half long. I attached a picture. Tell me if you know about this creature! Thanks
Jade
Hi Jade,
This is a Velvet Ant, a flightless female wasp. Watch out, she stings. We found a species match on BugGuide for you. We believe your species is Dasymutilla magnifica.
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. 29. Dasymutilla magnifica. hope this helps a bit.
¶
Posted 16 December 2005
§
‡
°
While having our family evacuate from the Houston area, waiting on Hurricane Rita to hit we went outside to check the wind speed and weather conditions. My daughter saw this mutant wingless wasp run across the sidewalk. This of course brought the curiosity of my brother along with all the little chumleys (Kiddos) to see the sight. I have to admit it took my brother the cyber junky to find your website in less than 15 min. Thanks for all the information. We let loose the striking lady in red in the neighbor’s lawn across the street.
Katy , Texas
Aka Hurricane Rita’s refuge Bed and Breakfast
Hi Katy,
Here in Los Angeles, our newspapers and television coverage is all about how crazy it is trying to get out of Houston. 14 hour drives to get 70 miles. We are amazed that you took the time to photograph and identify the Cow Killer, and then even had time to write to us. Good luck weathering the storm.
¶
Posted 23 September 2005
§
‡
°
The bug looks like David Bowie
Dear bugman,
I’m told you may be able to tell me what it is. I live in Southern California, silverado canyon to be exact (it’s on the edge of the cleveland national forest). It was a few months ago, this bug (pic attached) wondered onto our property. We see alot of strange spiders and bugs of sorts, but this one stumped us. It is 1/2 – 3/4 inches long. if you could tell me what kind it is i would be very greatful, we call it the David Bowie bug (since they share the same hair cut). We have not seen anything like it since that day.
Thank you,
Regina McIntyre
Hi Regina,
The Thistledown Velvet Ant does rather resemble David Bowie in his Diamond Dog days. This is actually a flightless female wasp.
Ed. Note Update: (12/02/2005)
ID corrections, etc. I’ve just discovered your excellent site (directed there by “This is True”), and as a hymenopterist have a few comments: All of the “thistledown velvet ants” shown are actually Dasymutilla nocturna, not Dasymutilla gloriosa. The latter has the erect hairs somewhat sparser and more “untidy”, the body is a reddish brown, not black, and all the hairs are whitish (no black hairs), so the legs look whitish.
I hope these comments are useful.
Denis
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 31. is Dasymutilla sackeni, Nocturna is a very ristricted species(Glamis, Algodones dunes). hope this helps a bit.
¶
Posted 29 August 2005
§
‡
°
Cow killer
I used your page to identify this cow killer ant / wasp.
Thanks,
Dan
Hi Dan,
Impressive close-up.
¶
Posted 23 August 2005
§
‡
°
rss
