Red Velvet Ant - Cow Killer

The Red Velvet Ant got its name from a farmers tale;
....... Its sting is so painful it could kill a cow.

The extremely painful sting rates in the high 3's on the Schmidt Pain Index. The Schmidt Index ranges from 1-4, 1 being mild and, a 4+ rating given to the Bullet ant:
...Pure, intense, brilliant pain. Like fire-walking over flaming charcoal with a 3-inch rusty nail in your heel.

The Red Velvet ant only rates as 3+ on the index :
..... Hydrochloric acid being poured on an open wound. (1)


This colorful, fuzzy creature is not an ant, it is in fact, a wasp. The female (pictured) is wingless with a stinger, the male has wings and no stinger.
Velvet ants are solitary and not aggressive unless severely threatened.

The wasp is quite quick and can walk 0.3 MPH.
It also has a very dense exo-skeleton, 10X more tough than a honey bee.
If threatened, it will excrete a foul smell and - or vibrate its abdomen, producing a squealing sound, warning would be predators of its nasty sting.
Although the sting produces intense pain, it contains almost no poisonous venom.
If the sting doesn't deter hungry adversaries, the velvet ant has powerful enough legs to pry itself free of most lizards mouths and spiders webs.

Keep in mind, I had no knowledge of this insects infamous sting before I captured it and started taking photos. I just thought it was a cool looking, large, fuzzy, ant.
Thankfully, in the twenty minutes I prodded and scooped it with a leaf to contain it within the wheel barrow, it made no attempt to sting me.

No wasps or humans were harmed in the taking of this photo.

(1) http:--scienceblogs.com-zooillogix- Schmidt Pain Index
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