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Home » Forums » General Discussion

huge ant-looking thing

I live in north central Tennessee and saw this beautiful insect crawling across my driveway and into the grass. I did not have time to run in and get the camera, so no pic, sorry. It looked very much like an ant, but it was about 1.5" in length. It was a coppery reddish color, and shone in the sun at an angle. Six legs, segmented body, no wings, two antennae and there was no noticeable stinger. Anyone venture a guess?
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Contributed by clarineteducator on 1 August, 2005 - 9:50am

Velvet ant.
It was probably a large velvet ant, likely the "cow killer," Dasymutilla occidentalis. These are actually wasps, the female of which is wingless. They are parasitic on other wasps like the cicada killer and horse guard. Females have a most excrutiating sting, so please don't be tempted to pick one up:-) Thank you for sharing, and for appreciating the beauty of nature.
… Eric R. Eaton, 1 August, 2005 - 3:41pm login or register to post comments

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