The velvet ant (Mutillidae)

Jan 15, 2023 Interesting Creatures in Guyana, News

=Interesting creature=

By Shervin Belgrave

Kaieteur News – This week’s interesting creature is not really an ant but a species of wasps whose wingless females resemble large hairy ants. Its hairy like appearance and close resemblance to ants, has resulted in the creature being nicknamed the “Velvet ant”.

Photo of a velvet ant.

Scientists would refer to them as Mutilliade, a family of more than 7000 species of wasps, And in some countries, it is called “cow killer” because it can pack a powerful sting that is rated three on the Schmidt pain index.

Although its sting is powerful, the pain only lasts for about 30 minutes and its venom is less toxic than that of the bullet ant whose sting can last for 24 hrs. The sting is also less toxic than that of honey bees and other harvester ants.

But like most venomous insects, the velvet ant only stings in self defence, so you better leave it alone if you happen to see one.

Velvet ants can be found in a number of South American countries, including Guyana. The dense pile of hair that covers its exoskeleton reflect mostly bright colours such as bright scarlet or orange, but some may also be black, white or silver.

Biologists believe that its bright coloured hair serves as a warning signal to ward off potential predators. Bright colours in the wild are a signal that the prey could be poisonous making for a very unpleasant meal.

Apart from this interesting feature, Velvet ants also have an exoskeleton that is very strong and tough to pierce. Scientific research has shown that it requires 11 times more force to crush the exoskeleton of a Velvet ant than that of the honeybee. Not only is its exoskeleton durable but it is round making it difficult for predators to pierce through with attempted stings or bites. A hard exoskeleton also helps Velvet ants to control moisture.

Velvet ants feed mostly on nectar and unlike ants, they do not operate in colonies with a queen and the difference between sexes can easily be noted because males have wings and females do not.

During mating seasons, the males would use their wings to fly in search of females. After mating the female would invade a nest of another insect, such as a ground-nesting bee or wasp burrow, and deposit her eggs. It would deposit one egg near each larva or pupa found in the invaded nest.

The Velvet ants’ egg would later develop into larvae and eventually kill out the larvae or pupa of the nest its mother had invaded and it is because of this parasitic behaviour, Velvet ant would normally be found in open, dry, sunny, sandy areas.

Source of information: (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mutillidae), (https://education.mdc.mo.gov/discover-nature/field-guide/velvet-ants)

Internal link: the bullet ant, (https://www.kaieteurnewsonline.com/2022/12/18/the-bullet-ant-munuri/)