Pacific velvet ant (Dasymutilla aureola)
This week’s crawly is the picture of “looks can be deceiving.” Not only is our fuzzy wuzzy crawly one you very much do not want to touch, but she also masquerades as a different type of crawly.
Meet the Pacific velvet ant (Dasymutilla aureola). She is neither velvet nor an ant.
Velvet ants are actually wingless wasps in the family Mutillidae.
Fun fact: Only females are wingless. Males have wings; they need them to find the females because while the females can’t fly, they can run – fast! Also, like all wasps, only the females have “stingers” (ovipositors which can dispense both eggs and venom). The males need those wings to escape potential predators too. Males do have mandibles (pinchy mouthparts) but those don’t do much damage against a real threat.
Speaking of defense; the female Pacific velvet ant is near the very top of the “Look but don’t touch!” list of crawlies. These vibrant ladies have defense mechanisms to spare.
Their first line of defense is their bright “Back off!” coloration. Pacific velvet ants can be either dark yellow (pictured) or vibrant red.
If the color doesn’t deter a would-be predator, there’s that speed they have. Getting a photo of one is quite the challenge; they can run away from a photographer at a stunning pace.
If color and speed aren’t enough, Pacific velvet ants will deploy their squeaky scream. Seriously, who wouldn’t be startled by a wasp screaming?!
If that doesn’t send the threat running for the hills, as a next-to-last resort the Pacific velvet ant can deploy a powerful stink.
If any would-be predator is still determined to mess with a Pacific velvet ant after all that, they will learn why velvet ants have the nickname “cow killer ants.”
Note: No, no velvet ant has ever killed a cow.
While their venom is not very potent, it is very, very painful.
On the Schmidt’s sting pain index a velvet ant sting is ranked 3 out of 4 (4 is most painful).
And yes, entomologist Justin Schmidt recorded his own experience of venomous stings, to rate and describe the pain caused by the venom, all for science!
Even if a would-be predator somehow managed to hold on to a velvet ant despite the painful sting, velvet ants have extraordinarily tough exoskeletons. The bottom line is no one is going to make a meal out of them.
All that said, it’s likely you’ve never seen a Pacific velvet ant in real life. There are only 36 recordings of them in Jackson County. In part because – see above – they really like to avoid humans and other large threatening creatures. And in part because they prefer dry climates and with all our creeks, rivers, ponds and lakes our county tends to be more riparian than dry.
Top all that off with the Pacific velvet ants’ size (one-half inch maximum) and their ability to hide in ground cover and you realize seeing one (from a respectful distance) is a rare treat.
Pacific velvet ants are solitary wasps, so they won’t be around in large groups. Adults feed on nectar and with all that fuzzy hair they are excellent pollinators. They may not be cuddly wasps, but they are good wasps to have around.