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Texas Ant ID
Posted: Fri Oct 05, 2018 9:19 pm
by Ares9738
I found this ant in my house today and i believe it is a queen though i'm not sure what species.
I found the ant inside my home in East Texas on October 5th, 2018.
It's about half an inch. (about 13 mm according to google).
Re: Texas Ant ID
Posted: Sat Oct 06, 2018 5:31 am
by Boomdale
That sir, looks like a velvet ant. I assume you did not pick it up by hand. Has one of the worst stings in the insect kingdom
Re: Texas Ant ID
Posted: Sat Oct 06, 2018 1:15 pm
by 23brendan
Here's a photo of a "Velvet Ant"
They're actually not ants, but are much closer to known wasps. They are solitary predatory insects, and are most definitely not queens! Be careful, they're also known as "Cow Killers" due to their ferociously painful stings.
Re: Texas Ant ID
Posted: Sat Oct 06, 2018 1:41 pm
by Ares9738
I actually found it crawling on my arm while i was in bed and did put it in the test tube by hand, glad this guy didn't sting me. I've seen velvet ants before but they always looked more fuzzy. I guess i'll go release him, thanks for the help.
Re: Texas Ant ID
Posted: Sun Oct 07, 2018 2:30 pm
by TheRealAntMan
Ares9738 wrote: ↑Sat Oct 06, 2018 1:41 pm
I actually found it crawling on my arm while i was in bed and did put it in the test tube by hand, glad this guy didn't sting me. I've seen velvet ants before but they always looked more fuzzy. I guess i'll go release him, thanks for the help.
There are many types of velvet ants. This one looks like it's from the Eastern velvet ant group. The "fuzzy" ones are likely Desert velvet ants or Western velvet ants.