Photograph by Pete Moulton.
Photography contest, Honorable Mention.
Dasymutilla_gloriosa -- female thistledown velvet ant busily digging up the burrows of sand wasps along the bank of the Rio Salado north of Mesa. Mr. Moulton adds, "This isn't an ant at all, but rather a wingless Mutillid wasp; and for all its cute fuzzy appearance, it's reputed to be a ferocious stinger."
11 Comments
ksplawn · 24 October 2011
The Eastern velvet ants we have here in SC are beautiful, but I wouldn't want to find one crawling up my leg. They may not actually kill cows (or even belong to the ant clade), but they did get the name "cow killer ant" for a reason. -Wheels
https://me.yahoo.com/a/JxVN0eQFqtmgoY7wC1cZM44ET_iAanxHQmLgYgX_Zhn8#57cad · 24 October 2011
ksplawn said:
The Eastern velvet ants we have here in SC are beautiful, but I wouldn't want to find one crawling up my leg. They may not actually kill cows (or even belong to the ant clade), but they did get the name "cow killer ant" for a reason.
-Wheels
The species in California are sometimes called "mule killers" for that same reason.
an · 25 October 2011
Beautiful indeed, and I agree, its wingless nature makes it looking like a spider...
A
http://viewsontheworld.blog.com/
https://me.yahoo.com/a/JxVN0eQFqtmgoY7wC1cZM44ET_iAanxHQmLgYgX_Zhn8#57cad · 26 October 2011
This isn’t an ant at all, but rather a wingless Mutillid wasp
But then, ants apparently evolved from wasps. So while that no more makes it an ant than evolution of birds from dinosaurs makes a velociraptor into a bird, it does lessen the impact of saying that it's not an ant, it's a wasp. In one sense, an ant and this critter are both wasps.
Glen Davidson
This isn’t an ant at all, but rather a wingless Mutillid wasp
But then, ants apparently evolved from wasps. So while that no more makes it an ant than evolution of birds from dinosaurs makes a velociraptor into a bird, it does lessen the impact of saying that it's not an ant, it's a wasp. In one sense, an ant and this critter are both wasps.
Glen Davidson
Picky, picky, Glen! But you're right. I probably could've worded that a bit more elegantly, eh?
Henry J · 26 October 2011
Wasp or ant, it's still a bug!!111!!!one!!!eleven!!!
apokryltaros · 26 October 2011
Henry J said:
Wasp or ant, it's still a bug!!111!!!one!!!eleven!!!
No, velvet ants belong to Hymenoptera, not Heteroptera. {/pedantry}
Henry J · 27 October 2011
apokryltaros said:
Henry J said:
Wasp or ant, it's still a bug!!111!!!one!!!eleven!!!
No, velvet ants belong to Hymenoptera, not Heteroptera. {/pedantry}
In that case:
Wasp or ant, it’s still an insect!!111!!!one!!!eleven!!!
Henry
11 Comments
ksplawn · 24 October 2011
The Eastern velvet ants we have here in SC are beautiful, but I wouldn't want to find one crawling up my leg. They may not actually kill cows (or even belong to the ant clade), but they did get the name "cow killer ant" for a reason.
-Wheels
https://me.yahoo.com/a/JxVN0eQFqtmgoY7wC1cZM44ET_iAanxHQmLgYgX_Zhn8#57cad · 24 October 2011
Looks like a mangy weasel.
Glen Davidson
Marilyn · 24 October 2011
It looks like a spider as well.
fnxtr · 24 October 2011
That's gorgeous.
apokryltaros · 24 October 2011
an · 25 October 2011
Beautiful indeed, and I agree, its wingless nature makes it looking like a spider...
A
http://viewsontheworld.blog.com/
https://me.yahoo.com/a/JxVN0eQFqtmgoY7wC1cZM44ET_iAanxHQmLgYgX_Zhn8#57cad · 26 October 2011
Pete Moulton · 26 October 2011
Henry J · 26 October 2011
Wasp or ant, it's still a bug!!111!!!one!!!eleven!!!
apokryltaros · 26 October 2011
Henry J · 27 October 2011