Velvet ant
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{{Taxobox | color = pink | name = Mutillidae | image = velvet ant 9118.JPG | regnum = Animalia | phylum = Arthropoda | classis = Insecta | ordo = Hymenoptera | subordo = Apocrita | superfamilia = Vespoidea | familia = Mutillidae }}
Mutillidae or velvet ants, also known as cow killers, are not actually ants but a type of wasp. They get their name from the hair that grows on their back. The hair ranges from red and black to completely white. Their shell is very tough, providing protection against wasp and bee stings. The males have wings, but the females are completely wingless.
They are known for their extremely painful sting, the venom of which was once mistakenly thought to be powerful enough to kill a cow, hence the nickname "cow killers." As with all members of the wasp family, the males are harmless; only the females sting. Like wasps, and unlike bees, they can sting multiple times.
The earliest-known velvet ants are believed to be specimens from the Dominican Republic preserved in amber for some 25 to 40 million years.
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Reproduction and life cycle
The male velvet ant flies around, searching for females. After mating, the female seeks out an insect's (typically bee's or wasp's) burrow to parasitize. Upon finding a suitable host, she lays the eggs in the larvae or pupae. Once it hatches, the velvet ant larva kills and eats its host.
Diet
Mature velvet ants feed upon flower nectar.
Range
The multillidae live worldwide, mostly in the tropics. In North America, they are found from Mexico to Southern Canada. Many species inhabit the Southern United States. They are especially common in desert and sandy areas, with at least three dozen species found in Arizona.
Book
- (1980) Lorus Milne, Lorus J. Milne, National Audubon Society Field Guide to North American Insects and Spiders (Audubon Society Field Guide) (Turtleback). Knopf. ISBN 0394507630.no:maurveps