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Home » Guide » Arthropods (Arthropoda) » Hexapods (Hexapoda) » Insects (Insecta) » Ants, Bees, Wasps and Sawflies (Hymenoptera) » Aculeata - Ants, Bees and Stinging Wasps » Spider Wasps, Velvet Ants and allies (Pompiloidea) » Velvet Ants (Mutillidae) » Sphaeropthalminae » Dasymutillini » Dasymutilla » Common Eastern Velvet Ant (Dasymutilla occidentalis)
Photo#323702
Fuzzy Red Ant? - Dasymutilla occidentalis - female
Copyright © 2009 xena111returns

Fuzzy Red Ant? - Dasymutilla occidentalis - Female
Omaha, Douglas County, Nebraska, USA
July 22, 2009
Size: about 1 inch
I've this insect on a few occasions, but either didn't have a camera, or couldn't keep up with it. This bug is very fast, can sting (first hand experience) and appears to be a fuzzy ant.
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Contributed by xena111returns on 22 August, 2009 - 7:51pm
Last updated 28 September, 2009 - 5:16pm

Dasymutilla occidentalis
Moved from Velvet Ants.
… George Waldren, 28 September, 2009 - 5:16pm login or register to post comments

Moved
Moved from ID Request.

Moving to family in hopes that your image will be reviewed again and possibly assigned a more specific ID...
… Harsi S. Parker, 23 September, 2009 - 8:12pm login or register to post comments

Dasmutilla sp.
maybe occidentalis
… J. Anderson, 23 August, 2009 - 10:03am login or register to post comments

velvet ant
actually a female wasp(the males tend to be much smaller), and also called a cow killer, because their sting is pretty brutal. you do not seem to phased....was it not horrible? i have heard its like getting hit with a baseball bat!
http://bugguide.net/node/view/13126

This one looks like: dasymutilla occidentalis, but other experts will likely shed more light on the details...
B
… bdedo, 22 August, 2009 - 8:31pm login or register to post comments

 
Stinging wasp
I'm not sure how bad it is compared to other stinging wasps, but it just felt like a bad paper cut. Not horrible, but not pleasant either.

thank you for identifying it!
… xena111returns, 22 August, 2009 - 9:02pm login or register to post comments

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