so you can see the other entries of the species and the winged male. But I think your image is too small. I even tried to crop it, but it didn't improve, so it should be 'frassed'

Moved from ID Request.

Moved from Ants.

Hi, Marilyn and Welcome to BugGuide! I truly appreciate your enthusiasm in observing this beautiful insect and attempting to research an ID. You have in fact identified this one correctly! It is indeed a "velvet ant", but common names can be deceptive and tricky. This is actually not an ant at all, but instead a wasp in the Family Mutillidae (not Formicidae) which does a very convincing job of looking like an ant. The male velvet ants have wings and are harmless, but rarely seen. You have photographed a female velvet ant which lacks wings and (as you've seen) is often found conspicuously running around on dry ground. It's probably not a good idea to try and catch one of these because the female can inflict a very painful sting when handled!

I have moved your image to ID Request where someone may be able to tell you exactly which species this is. For future reference, it is probably best to submit your images to ID Request rather than submitting them directly to a guide page, unless you are absolutely certain that you know where they belong.

Looking forward to seeing many more images of your insect discoveries!