Touch of velvet

Gordon C. Snelling · Post by **Gordon C. Snelling** » Tue Aug 15, 2006 6:19 am

These velvet ants, are surprisingly both the same species, Dasymutilla foxii, the tan one was a attention hog and just would not let me get a good shot of them side by side so I had to settle for this as my best image of the two. This wpsecies was only known from the vicinity of the Colorado River until I collected them in the Mojave desert this year.

Carl_Constantine · Post by **Carl_Constantine** » Tue Aug 15, 2006 7:10 am

nice image. I never knew such ants existed. Do you think the color differential is male/female like it is with other animals?

Gordon C. Snelling · Post by **Gordon C. Snelling** » Tue Aug 15, 2006 7:21 am

These are both females. These are actually wasps, not ants. The males have wings and fly. These wasps are parasitic on other solitary bees and wasps.

beetleman · Post by **beetleman** » Tue Aug 15, 2006 11:33 am

We have small velvet ants up here in the NorthEast. I have seen some very big ones in Florida. A wide range in color on these two. Is this a controlled shot, like in a jar or petri dish Gorden?

Ken Ramos · Post by **Ken Ramos** » Tue Aug 15, 2006 4:02 pm

We have velvet ants here in North Carolina too but they are about and inch maybe less in size and are a reddish orange with black stripes. Mean looking things I might add. I leave them alone.

Interesting shot Gordon, it does look as though they are in a jar or a dish of some kind.

Gordon C. Snelling · Post by **Gordon C. Snelling** » Tue Aug 15, 2006 8:57 pm

Actually you are quite correct they are in a container. They just would not hold still in the open. My apologies for not including that info.

Mike B in OKlahoma · Post by **Mike B in OKlahoma** » Tue Aug 15, 2006 10:48 pm

Velvet ants always seem to be a pain to photograph. They just keep moving! You'd think that if they were confident enough of their sting to have a bright red color, they'd also be confident enough to sit still, but no....

From what I've read, the white color is an attempt to mimic creosote seeds. I photographed what I think is a different species of the same genus in Joshua Tree National Park a year or two ago.

http://photomacrography1.net/forum/view ... velvet+ant

paul · Post by **paul** » Wed Aug 16, 2006 2:14 am

They are really interesting looking creatures, never seen anything like that. Thanks for all the info, too.

salden · Post by **salden** » Wed Aug 16, 2006 3:22 am

They sure are cute (wasp or ant), they seem to have personality that is for sure.

twebster · Post by **twebster** » Wed Aug 16, 2006 4:29 am

Hi ya' Gordon,

Here in Arizona we call velvet ants, "cow killers". I have first-hand knowledge as to how these wasps got that name. I was stung by a red/black female one time and it felt like someone was driving a railroad spike through my hand

Cows must have fallen dead out of sheer fright

(OK, not really.

) These "ants" pack a mean stinger

Best regards,

Gordon C. Snelling · Post by **Gordon C. Snelling** » Wed Aug 16, 2006 5:28 am

They do indeed have a wicked sting. I have never been nailed by one of the larger diurnal species. But got a good sting from a small nocturnal species.I remembered it for a while. Az. has some beautiful Velvet ants though. Mike B. I agree that is D. glorliosa, it's always a pretty thing.