Black insect with fuzzy redish orange abdomen
Wed, Nov 26, 2008 at 5:30 PM
Found in Peoria, Arizona in November. A solid looking 1 1/4 inch long and maybe a 1/2 inch wide insect, deep black with a vibrant redish-orange fuzzy abdomen. No wings & very busy walking around looking for something. If you were going to draw this critter, you would use a sharpie due to its solid features.
The Nicoloffs
Peoria, AZ (out in the desert)
Velvet Ant
Dear Nicoloffs,
This is a Velvet Ant, one of a colorful group of wasps in the family Mutillidae. Male Velvet Ants have wings, but females are flightless and resemble colorful hairy ants. Only the female is capable of stinging, and the sting of several species is quite painful. We believe, based on images posted to BugGuide that your Velvet Ant is Dasymutilla magnifica, but the photo is so blurry, it is impossible to be certain.
¶ Posted 27 November 2008 § ‡ ° Velvet Ant
Hi. I am quite squeamish about some bugs but fascinated with others and am enjoying your page! We found this little beauty in the garage after my 3 year old daughter said “Look Mommy! A Ladybug Ant!” We caught her snapped a few pictures then released her out by the trees.
Thanks!
NE Arkansas
Cow Killer
Your Velvet Ant is actually a flightless female wasp. Because of her painful sting, she also goes by the common name of Cow Killer.
¶ Posted 26 September 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.
¶ Posted 21 July 2008 § ‡ ° male cowkiller
I could not find out what this was until I reached your site. Thank you. I’m afraid the guy was dead when I found him, but no one else knew he was special. He’s going into my "When I Met You, You were Already Dead" collection!
kim smith
mcdonough, GA
Hi Kim,
While this is certainly a male Velvet Ant, it might be a species other than a Cowkiller. We are not certain. We love your “When I Met You, You were Already Dead” collection.
¶ Posted 18 July 2008 § ‡ ° Thought you might like this
I’ve attached a picture that we took of a "Cow-killer", aka "Velvet ant". Thought you might like it.
Stefan Bowers
hi Stefan,
We will happily post your photo, but we need to caution our readers not to mishandle this female Velvet Wasp as she can deliver a painful sting if provoked.
¶ Posted 15 June 2008 § ‡ ° I’m stumped
Hello,
I found your cool site on the web, but a cursory search of a few of the categories did not turn up anything. Can you help me to identify this guy?: Location: Henry Coe SP, Northern California
About 1 cm long red on both ends, with black in the middle furry moves pretty quickly Thanks!
Chris
Hi Chris,
This is a Velvet Ant, a flightless female wasp with a painful sting. We haven’t the time to research the exact species at the moment.
¶ Posted 16 April 2008 § ‡ ° Velvet ant
Greetings, I am having trouble with the identification of this velvet ant. It loves to have a little mist along with it’s fruit nectar. So as you scroll down the hair gets drier in each photo. I believe it to be in the Dasymutilla family but can’t key it out with the books that I have at my disposal. Your help with the identification would be greatly appreciated. Neat little gal. Thanks for your help and great web site, sincerely,
Jerry Schudda
Tucson, Arizona
Hi Jerry,
We could not find a convincing match for your Velvet Ant on the BugGuide pages, though Dasymutilla coccineohirta looks close. Perhaps Eric Eaton will be able to assist us.
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 1. dasymutilla coccineohirta. hope this helps a bit.
¶ Posted 01 April 2008 § ‡ ° what’s this hymenopteran?
Hi,
Can you tell me what this insect is? Missing a hindwing. I found it in Osoyoos, BC, Canada. Thanks,
Mikel Lefler
Hi Mikel,
Velvet Ants are flightless female wasps in the family Mutillidae. The males have wings. This is a male Velvet Ant. We cannot tell you the exact species, but it bears an uncanny resemblance to a mounted male Dasymutilla quadrigutta pictured on BugGuide.
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 2. probably dasymutilla vesta, need more specific location. hope this helps a bit.
¶ Posted 03 January 2008 § ‡ ° 
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