Order: Hymenoptera
Family: Mutillidae

Diet: Larvae feed upon bee or wasp larvae or pupae. Adults feed on flower nectar. 
Vegetation Association: 
Predators: They have a stridulitrum which enables them to make a high pitched hum that scares away predators.

Life Stages: Complete metamorphosis, egg, larvae, pupae, adult.

Notes: Velvet ants are actually wasps that look like ants. They have red velvety looking hair that may be red, white, golden, or silver.  Males have wings and females do not. They are nicknamed ?cow killers? because of their painful sting. Only females will sting. After mating females will find a bee or wasp nest and lay her eggs near the host larvae or pupae. Velvet ant larvae will kill and eat their host.

Photo: Taken at Jewel of the Creek at Cave Creek on September 29, 2007. For more photos, click on camera icon.

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