Fuzzy Doesn’t Mean Friendly: Red Velvet Ants

March 22, 2011 · in colorful, Dasymutilla aureola pacifica,insect, Red Velvet Ants

image credit: EugeneNatureObserver

image credit: mrnickon

image credit: sjb5

image credit: arthurevans.wordpress.com

© David Guzman

Habitat: occur worldwide, with some 5000 species, mainly in the tropics.
Status: No conservation concerns

These colorful, fuzzy Red Velvet Ants (Dasymutilla aureola pacifica) aren’t really ants at all – they’re wasps! The females lack wings which makes them resemble ants… definitely had me fooled.Their name “velvet ant” does refer to the wasp’s dense hair which comes in a variety of colors, including white, blue, gold, black, silver, and red as show in this subspecies. The vivid coloration serves as a warning to other animals that these wasps aren’t exactly friendly. In fact, they’re also known as cow killers because their sting is said to be “strong enough to kill a cow,” although this isn’t actually the case… it just really hurts!The earliest-known velvet ants are specimens from the Dominican Republic preserved in amber some 25 to 40 million years ago.

Crazy Ants

Paratrechina longicornis

Some facts on this ant:

Length: 2.5-3 mm..

Distribution: Of African or Oriental origin; spread around the world.

Diet: Omnivorous-feeding on live and dead insects, seeds, honeydew, fruits, plant exudes, and household foods.

Antennae: 12-segmented, with no club.

Color: Grayish black.

First described: By the French entomologist Pierre André Latreille in 1802 as Formica longicornis.

Paratrechina longicornis is no slow walker. This ant's name "crazy" stems from its erratic and rapid movement. It has the ability to successfully survive in highly disturbed and artificial areas, including ships at sea. Since it can live indoors with humans, it can exist at any latitude. This ant has been reported from as far north as Sweden and Estonia, and as far south as New Zealand (where it is not, however, established). It is considered a pest, nesting in apartments and other buildings, as well among others in trash, refuse, plant and tree cavities, and rotten wood. In houses nests are built in walls, narrow spaces, house plants, and empty containers. Colonies tend to be small to moderately sized, including as many as 2,000 workers and 40 queens. The colonies are highly mobile and relocate when conditions become unfavorable to these insects.