Garden
Column for the
Darrell
Blackwelder
Several
have called over the past few days concerned about a menacing large, orange-red
ant scurrying around yards and playgrounds. The ant is actually from a family of
wasps that look like large furry ants.
Velvet
ants are venomous insects. They have docile dispositions, but will inflict a
painful sting if mishandled. Velvet ants are also known as cowkillers and
mulekillers because of their painful sting.
There are about 470 species in the
Males
of almost all species are smaller than the females and have wings. They are not
as common as the female usually found on flowers. As in all wasps, the males
cannot sting. Some species of velvet ants are nocturnal, but most of the ones in
Despite
their fuzzy appearance, the wasps have extremely hard exoskeletons enabling them
to withstand the stings of many varieties of bees and wasps. Velvet ants are
beneficial insects that parasitize other ground dwelling bees including yellow
jackets and cicada killers.
The
female wasp spends much of her time on the ground searching for burrows in order
to deposit her eggs. Depending upon the species, the developing velvet ant brood
will feed upon the larvae of the wasp or bee, or the stockpile of food left for
the unsuspecting wasp or bee. Adult velvet ants feed on nectar, pollen and fruit
in the wild.
One
interesting fact about velvet ants is they are very
good at climbing glass. They are also very skilled in the art of burrowing to
avoid detection. When disturbed, they produce a loud, high pitched squeaking
sound.
Darrell
Blackwelder is an agricultural agent in charge of horticulture with the North
Carolina Cooperative Extension Service in
.