Common Eastern Velvet Ant
Dasymutilla occidentalis
Common eastern velvet ants inhabit sandy fields, open woods, and other dry places where solitary bees and wasps nest. Females travel across the ground searching for host nests in which to lay eggs, while adults take nectar from flowers. The wingless female has a famously painful sting and a remarkably tough exoskeleton. Despite its fuzzy ant-like appearance, this animal is actually a parasitoid wasp.
- Type
- Venom / Shell
- Conservation status
- NE
Growth chain
- ?
- ?
- Common Eastern Velvet Ant