Once the eggs hatch, the velvet ant larvae will eat the bee larvae. So this is part of the natural population control system. And you are right, they are strikingly beautiful.

This makes the eastern velvet ant a very hard subject to photograph c... This insect is not an ant, although it is always referred to as an ant. It looks like a large red and black hairy ant, ...

No, that giant red ant you just saw was not a fire ant; it is called a velvet ant. While it is not one of the most common insects to see here in Madison County, someone did bring a couple in the ...

OAKLEY, Md. (WHTM) — It certainly looks like an ant, doesn’t it? In fact, the red velvet ant (Dasymutilla occidentalis) isn’t an ant at all, but a wasp. At around 3/4 of an inch long, it’s ...

If you see a velvet ant with wings, rest assured, it is a male. Although capable of flight, males are incapable of stinging, as they lack stingers.

The Cow Killer Ant is also known as Velvet Ant or Red Wasp. While called "ant," it is actually a wingless female wasp that can inflict a painful sting. The male wasp does have the advantage of flight.

VERIFY: This ‘mystery’ bug is a velvet ant…and it’s not an ant at all A WFMY viewer asked us to VERIFY the identity of this ant-like bug. Turns out, it’s a wasp dubbed the ‘cow killer.’ ...

The Eastern Velvet Ant isn't an ant at all - it's technically a wasp. The female "cow killers" are the only sex equipped with a stinger while the males are able to fly.

"I just saw this giant red and black ant in my garden. It almost didn’t look real. Are they dangerous?" — B.H.

Cow killer ants (Dasymutilla occidentalis), also called red velvet ants and eastern velvet ants, are a species of velvet ant. Velvet ants are wasps, but named for their fuzzy, often wingless ...

A velvet ant sting is like “hot oil spilling over your hand” – now, scientists have identified molecules in its venom that let it deliver excruciating pain to a variety of other animals ...

Great Smoky Mountains National Park officials are educating visitors to recognize the "Cow Killer Ant," a creature found in the park. Also known as the Red Velvet Ant or the Dasymutilla ...