When you first see a red velvet ant, the first thing you will probably ask yourself is “what the heck is that thing?” It kind of looks like a giant ant, but it also looks like a wingless wasp. They are impressive. But here’s the deal, they are not an ant (even though that is what they are called), they are a wasp. Technically they are known as the Dasymutilla occidentalis, but these ants are also known by the name of the “cow killer” insect which is an impressive moniker, even though their bite is not able to kill a cow. This cow killer name likely came from the fact that their sting can be quite painful. The males are harmless, but it’s the females who carry the stinger.

In case you are wondering, yes, there are people out there who study the pain level of insect stings by letting the insect sting them. On the Schmidt’s sting pain index, the red velvet ant’s sting ranks a 3 on a scale of 1 to 4 with 4 being most painful. For perspective, wasp and bee stings rank at a level of 2 on the Schmidt’s scale.

When you see a red velvet ant, they are pretty easy to identity due to their vibrant coloring and large size. Adult red velvet ants can grow to about 3/4 of an inch in length and are covered with patterns of black and a reddish/orange hair. If you see one, it’s likely a female because the females are wingless, so they can be found crawling around. Males are a little more difficult to spot since they have wings and spend their days searching for nectar. So, if you see a male, it will likely be on a flower as they are drinking in nectar.

If you disturb or annoy a red velvet ant, you will likely discover they make a squeaking sound when disturbed. This sound and their coloring should put you on notice that this insect doesn’t want to be bothered, and if bothered, you may experience a level 3 sting.

Red velvet ants are considered parasitic insects because they use other host insects to feed their young. When red velvet ants find a hole containing ground-nesting bees, they dig down into the nesting chamber to deposit their eggs. Once their eggs hatch, the larvae begin to dine on the bee larvae in the nest. When they reach adulthood, they feed on nectar from flowers.

While this may sound like an insect you don’t want to mess with, they typically are not cause for concern for people, pets, or livestock. Your best strategy is to just live and let live unless you find them in large concentrations at which point you may need to reduce the population. Good luck.

You can get answers to all your gardening questions by calling the Tulsa Master Gardeners Help Line at 918-746-3701, dropping by our Diagnostic Center at 4116 E. 15th Street, or by emailing us at mg@tulsamastergardeners.org. Photo: 

Johnny N. Dell, Bugwood.org