# velvet ant pic



## Galapoheros (May 15, 2009)

I came across this rather large one yesterday.  What do these eat?


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## cacoseraph (May 15, 2009)

fruit, honey, sugar water


do try not to get bit or stung. when you see the jaws you will know what i mean


read up on their reproduction. it is kind of weird.


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## Widowman10 (May 15, 2009)

i fed mine on either honey, or sugar water. honey was easiest for me. and yeah, they don't call them a "cow-killer" for nothing!!  the stinger is, i swear, literally as long as the abdomen. ridiculously long.


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## cacoseraph (May 15, 2009)

the jaws of a local species are very oversized, as well

they fang tips well cross each other 


brutish, for being a hippy honey drinker =P


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## Widowman10 (May 15, 2009)

cacoseraph said:


> the jaws of a local species are very oversized, as well
> 
> they fang tips well cross each other
> 
> ...


i would not be worried at all about the bite compared to the sting


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## Widowman10 (May 15, 2009)

here's the flavor we have out here in CO:







and again, i swear the sting is as long as the abdomen.


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## cacoseraph (May 15, 2009)

Widowman10 said:


> i would not be worried at all about the bite compared to the sting


yeah, the sting is supposed to be crazy


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## Widowman10 (May 15, 2009)

cacoseraph said:


> yeah, the sting is supposed to be crazy


probably not bad for the man who lets giant centipedes bite him 

now THAT is crazy! 

you should try it out and let us know how it compares. i would be interested


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## Galapoheros (May 15, 2009)

Interesting food info.  I have been stung once.  It was about 30 years ago when I was at summer camp.  I had always been curious about them.  I saw one when we were hiking and I thought, I will just touch the back the abdomen.  I touched it and that long stinger reached under and got me!!!!  I remember jumping back and thinking "what the hell just happened!!!"  It hurt pretty bad, bad enough that I really remember that moment.  Even today I don't want to touch one ....but I did hahahahahahaha


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## Noexcuse4you (May 15, 2009)

Nice!  The ones here in Socal are a bit fuzzier.  Here's one I caught the other day.


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## Widowman10 (May 15, 2009)

nice, kyle!

ooh, check out this ugly mug...

and i always thought the "thistledown" (the crazy hairy, all-white) Vant was awesome looking. 

anybody find (and could take pics of) thistledowns??


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## TheDarkInfinity (May 15, 2009)

I havent found any Dasymutilla gloriosa in a long time. When I used to live in Rangely, CO north of Grand Junction I would find them out there while looking for scorps.


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## kru008 (May 15, 2009)

those are some hairy ants..lol


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## Widowman10 (May 15, 2009)

kru008 said:


> those are some hairy ants..lol


wasps


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## Moltar (May 15, 2009)

Those things are so cool. I caught one last year and tried to keep it. I was unsuccessful, it never ate the honey water i was offering or the half grape, eventually dying. I think she was fertilized and wanted only to find a place to lay eggs.

Have you heard it stridulate yet?

This is her. I guess this is a pretty large species, more than 1" body length. These are found in MD.


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## Galapoheros (May 15, 2009)

Pretty interesting coloration on that one ...and pretty big!  I've heard them stridulate, they sound kind of like some longhorn beetles to me, but a little louder.  And when I said I touched the back of the abdomen on one and got stung when I was a kid, I meant to say "on top" lol.  I wouldn't touch the stinger end of the ab, haha.  I touched the top part of the abdomen closest to the head and it STILL got me!  I still have this one, it ate a small drop of honey.  I was going to let it go today but I'm going to watch it for a while.  It's trying to dig so I'm going to give it some sub.


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## Moltar (May 15, 2009)

Yeah... I had mine on sub similar to where I found it with some stuff in there to hide under, food and a little water dish. All it really did was lap the jar endlessly and just try like heck to escape. I felt bad when it died, she would have been fine if I hadn't messed with her.  

Incidentally, i find these guys and giant, gentle wasps that I've always heard called "apple wasps" in near proximity. I suspect it's the apple wasps that the velvet ant parasitizes to lay eggs.


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## Galapoheros (May 15, 2009)

OK I'm letting this lady go now, hope she finds a Yellowjacket hole!


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## arachyd (May 15, 2009)

The ones around here have the pattern similar to the one etown posted but the hair is very short and does look just like velvet. Every year one walks across the parking lot where I work and every year they come running and ask me what it is. Every year I tell them and put it in a cup and let them hear it squeak and warn them never to touch them. Every year they ask me again, sheesh! They are among my favorites. I just love the colors.


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## kru008 (May 15, 2009)

Widowman10 said:


> wasps


oh crap..they're wasps?..still..pretty hairy wasps then..


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## Scythemantis (May 17, 2009)

They're solitary wasps with wingless females


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## Pulk (May 17, 2009)

http://www.flickr.com/photos/pulk/2484791447/ (has sound)


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## bhoeschcod (May 17, 2009)

etown_411 said:


> Those things are so cool. I caught one last year and tried to keep it. I was unsuccessful, it never ate the honey water i was offering or the half grape, eventually dying. I think she was fertilized and wanted only to find a place to lay eggs.
> 
> Have you heard it stridulate yet?
> 
> This is her. I guess this is a pretty large species, more than 1" body length. These are found in MD.


Image the stinger on that!


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## beetleman (May 17, 2009)

Pulk said:


> http://www.flickr.com/photos/pulk/2484791447/ (has sound)


 hee hee that 1 looks like a chiuauha experiment gone wrong,man i love velvet ants,awesome little devils:clap:


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## Ihaggerty1313 (May 18, 2009)

Those things are crazy looking man!  Ants, wasps... either or whatever they are I don't think I'll be touching them anytime soon!  

-Ian
www.theroachranch.com


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## bhoeschcod (May 18, 2009)

Wasps for sure the males have wings right?


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## Widowman10 (May 18, 2009)

bhoeschcod said:


> Wasps for sure the males have wings right?


yep. kinda tricky to find, but it can be done  i try to find a couple every year.


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## zonbonzovi (May 18, 2009)

Found this one in Costa Rica(carribean side).  sorry for the quality...


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## Pulk (May 18, 2009)




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## Widowman10 (May 18, 2009)

nice shots of the males pulk. did you find their female counterparts?

and has anyone ever tried to breed these? i have heard/read that they can be extremely difficult to breed and are host-specific for larvae. i think it would be more work than worth if possible.


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## skippy (May 18, 2009)

i read that the sexual dimorphism is so extreme in many species that it is impossible to tell if the specimens are compatible unless they are found mid-coitus

my feeling is that this would make breeding somewhat problematic:}


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## Galapoheros (May 18, 2009)

beetleman said:


> hee hee that 1 looks like a chiuauha experiment gone wrong,man i love velvet ants,awesome little devils:clap:


It was about as noisy as a chihuahua too, haha.  That thing was non-stop bug barking.  That's a cool weird looking black and white one.  Nice shots Pulk.  ...parasitic, ..criminals of the wasp world.


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## Pulk (May 18, 2009)

Widowman10 said:


> nice shots of the males pulk. did you find their female counterparts?


no, I didn't.


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## Widowman10 (May 18, 2009)

oh, that would have made for a cool shot 

well, if you live where i do, it's easy to find the female counterparts because there is only 1 species. narrows the options down a bit  but i also have heard that sexual dimorphism is pretty crazy and varies among males.


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