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Dasymutilla occidentalis (red velvet ant, eastern velvet ant, cow ant or cow killer) [2] [3] [4] is a species of parasitoid wasp that ranges from Connecticut to Kansas in the north and Florida to Texas in the south. Adults are mostly seen in the summer months.
Mating pair. Velvet ants (Mutillidae) are a family of more than 7,000 species of wasps whose wingless females resemble large, hairy ants.Their common name velvet ant refers to their resemblance to an ant, and their dense pile of hair, which most often is bright scarlet or orange, but may also be black, white, silver, or gold.
The head and thorax are typically coloured red-brown; the rear half of the abdomen is black and the mandibles brown-yellow. Adults characteristically possess the long, powerful serrated mandibles and a venom -laced sting that is capable of causing severe pain for a couple of days.
Their colouration is variable; black combined with red and yellow is a common pattern, and many species have golden-coloured pubescence (hair). [78] Many other species are brightly coloured which warns predators to avoid them. [79]
Formica pallidefulva (a field ant) is a species of ant found in North America. It is a red to dark brown ant with a shiny body, and varies in shade across its range. Colonies of this ant are found in a variety of habitats, where they excavate underground nests with galleries and chambers.
Red harvester ants are eusocial insects, characterized by a high level of cooperation and an organized division of labor. The worker caste is sterile . As with most ant species, reproduction is performed by a mating caste that consists of winged alates (reproductives) that reside in the nest until weather permits them to fly away and mate.
Sphaeropthalma are among the smaller velvet ants. Many species have red hair (common to many species in the family), while a few are more pink or white, or black. The genus is largely made up of species that are active only at night. Some, however, are active during the day. The ones which have pink hair are nocturnal. [5]
These red ants construct their nests on the undersides of mango tree (Mangifera indica) and coconut palm (Cocos nucifera) branches. An ant egg harvester will knock the nest off with a stick so that it falls into a bucket of water waiting below. [3] Reportedly, the best-tasting ant eggs are harvested from nests that are situated on mango trees. [3]