Does anyone know about this bug? I have seen one crawling around outdoors, but only identified recently from the Post Office’s stamp series on insects…of all things!
Are these bugs dangerous, if one were bitten, for example?
I heard this fire-red bug, which looks like an ant enlarged 10x, does not colonize like other ants, but remains a loner most of its life? (Maybe it mates and flies the coop, so to speak?) Is that true? Also, is there any reason I’ve only seen one? (I’m fairly certain I’ve see the same one, again and again, crawling over the same piece of sidewalk. I guess its “nest” is nearby.
But, there must be offspring somewhere!
Haven’t seen it lately, nor have I seen it prior to a few years ago. Could it have been a “pet” someone released - not native to the Mid-Atlantic region?
“They’re coming to take me away ha-ha, ho-ho, hee-hee, to the funny farm where life is beautiful all the time… :)” - Napoleon IV
Cute, Cartooniverse, but you should see this bug! It’s like what the “Hummer” or “Excursion” is to autos, this bug is to ants!
You gotta see this thing! Maybe it’s from Mars?
“They’re coming to take me away ha-ha, ho-ho, hee-hee, to the funny farm where life is beautiful all the time… :)” - Napoleon IV
I remember finding one when I was a kid and getting stung by it when I tried to catch it. The have a sting similar to a wasp. They are an impressive insect.
Having been stung by fire ants many times, I can safely say that ants might be social to their own kind, but are highly anti-social to others not their own kind.
Sure, if you’re wearing combat boots and the velvet ant (wasp!) is on concrete. See the “How big is your gun” thread for hardware capable of killing these things.
Sure, I’m all for moderation – as long as it’s not excessive.
“Say what?!? Individual velvet ants can be stomped with your foot. Much more satisfying, and ecologically sound.”
Wrong! Ever tried to stomp a velvet ant? Good luck but you’d better bring your lunch. You can stomp, run over, squish, and grind all you want, but you’re not going to kill it that way. I’ve tried many times to kill velvet ants–stepping on them, running a bike over them, a skateboard, another time stepping on it, and nothing works; they just flatten their bodies out so anything on top of them does no damage. After you are done stepping on them, they “inflate,” and walk away. I’d say use the aerosol.