# Velvet Ant **URL:** \ **Category:** Factual Questions\ **Created:** [March 2, 2000, 2:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/velvet-ant/8053 "2000-03-02T14:39:00Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 16\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Jinx](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/c6cbf5/32.png) [@Jinx](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jinx)\ **Post date:** [March 2, 2000, 2:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/velvet-ant/8053/1 "2000-03-02T14:39:00Z")
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 ---
**Author:** ![Cartooniverse](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/cartooniverse/32/3084_2.png) [@Cartooniverse](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Cartooniverse)\ **Post date:** [March 2, 2000, 2:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/velvet-ant/8053/2 "2000-03-02T14:41:00Z")
I think it was a pet owned by Lou Reed, of the famed Velvet Underground. But, I’m not sure. Might have been a bug who lived with the Velveteen Rabbit… Cartooniverse * * * If you want to kiss the sky, you’d better learn how to kneel. ---
**Author:** ![Jinx](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/c6cbf5/32.png) [@Jinx](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jinx)\ **Post date:** [March 2, 2000, 2:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/velvet-ant/8053/3 "2000-03-02T14:54:00Z")
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 ---
**Author:** ![frolix8](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/f04885/32.png) [@frolix8](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/frolix8)\ **Post date:** [March 2, 2000, 3:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/velvet-ant/8053/4 "2000-03-02T15:08:00Z")
Here’s some info: [velvet ant](http://www.ext.vt.edu/departments/entomology/factsheets/velvetan.html) 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. ---
**Author:** ![WallyM7](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/b5e925/32.png) [@WallyM7](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/WallyM7)\ **Post date:** [March 2, 2000, 3:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/velvet-ant/8053/5 "2000-03-02T15:21:00Z")
Just a small point for future reference: There are no solitary ants. Every ant species, without exception, is social. * * * Voted as the poster you’d most like to meet. I demand a recount. ---
**Author:** ![Doctor\_Jackson](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/doctor_jackson/32/32_2.png) [@Doctor\_Jackson](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Doctor_Jackson)\ **Post date:** [March 2, 2000, 3:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/velvet-ant/8053/6 "2000-03-02T15:29:00Z")
frolix - informative link, but: > [@](#): > > CONTROL: If control is desired, individual velvet ants can be killed with an aerosol spray. Say what?!? Individual velvet ants can be stomped with your foot. Much more satisfying, and ecologically sound. * * * The overwhelming majority of people have more than the average (mean) number of legs. – E. Grebenik ---
**Author:** ![frolix8](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/f04885/32.png) [@frolix8](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/frolix8)\ **Post date:** [March 2, 2000, 3:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/velvet-ant/8053/7 "2000-03-02T15:40:00Z")
You may be correct wally, but as this site points out, they’re really wasps. [velvet wasps](http://www2.ncsu.edu/unity/lockers/project/pestmngt3/AG268/html/velvet_ants.htm) ---
**Author:** ![WallyM7](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/b5e925/32.png) [@WallyM7](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/WallyM7)\ **Post date:** [March 2, 2000, 3:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/velvet-ant/8053/8 "2000-03-02T15:46:00Z")
Well, that was my point. The term Velvet Ant is a misnomer. ---
**Author:** ![SoulFrost](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/f07891/32.png) [@SoulFrost](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/SoulFrost)\ **Post date:** [March 2, 2000, 4:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/velvet-ant/8053/9 "2000-03-02T16:01:00Z")
Yup…wingless ground wasps is what they are. As a kid, I tried to pick one up using a thick pad of newspaper–I got stung. -David ---
**Author:** ![Earl\_Snake-Hips\_Tucker](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/earl_snake-hips_tucker/32/3269_2.png) [@Earl\_Snake-Hips\_Tucker](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Earl_Snake-Hips_Tucker)\ **Post date:** [March 2, 2000, 4:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/velvet-ant/8053/10 "2000-03-02T16:04:00Z")
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. ---
**Author:** ![InutilisVisEst](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/i/d2c977/32.png) [@InutilisVisEst](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/InutilisVisEst)\ **Post date:** [March 2, 2000, 5:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/velvet-ant/8053/11 "2000-03-02T17:25:00Z")
> [@](#): > > Say what?!? Individual velvet ants can be stomped with your foot. Much more satisfying, and ecologically sound. 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. ---
**Author:** ![Sassy](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/e47c2d/32.png) [@Sassy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sassy)\ **Post date:** [March 2, 2000, 7:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/velvet-ant/8053/12 "2000-03-02T19:38:00Z")
> [@](#): > > Originally posted by Cartooniverse: > \*\* I think it was a pet owned by Lou Reed, of the famed Velvet Underground. But, I’m not sure. Might have been a bug who lived with the Velveteen Rabbit… > > Cartooniverse > > \*\* today is Lou Reed’s birthday… * * * I am a redhead, you see, and I do not tempt. I insist. -Cristi ---
**Author:** ![Arnold\_Winkelried](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/3d9bf3/32.png) [@Arnold\_Winkelried](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Arnold_Winkelried)\ **Post date:** [March 2, 2000, 7:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/velvet-ant/8053/13 "2000-03-02T19:46:00Z")
From **frolix8** ’s link > [@](#): > > Females are capable of inflicting a very severe sting if handled or stepped on with bare feet, hence the common name of cow killer. The winged males are harmless. Holy cow! A cow killer? I guess it’s a good idea to teach your little tykes not to pet the soft fuzzy “ant”. ---
**Author:** ![Llardball](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/f6c823/32.png) [@Llardball](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Llardball)\ **Post date:** [March 3, 2000, 2:03am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/velvet-ant/8053/14 "2000-03-03T02:03:00Z")
Posted by Doctor “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. ---
**Author:** ![scr4](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/59ef9b/32.png) [@scr4](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/scr4)\ **Post date:** [March 3, 2000, 3:07am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/velvet-ant/8053/15 "2000-03-03T03:07:00Z")
Found a photo at: [http://www.psu.edu/dept/beehive/P-gals/gallery3/hy22.html](http://www.psu.edu/dept/beehive/P-gals/gallery3/hy22.html)[http://www.uky.edu/Agriculture/Entomology/entfacts/trees/ef442.htm](http://www.uky.edu/Agriculture/Entomology/entfacts/trees/ef442.htm) The latter site has a lot of text information as well. Fascinating creatures. ---
**Author:** ![Doctor\_Jackson](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/doctor_jackson/32/32_2.png) [@Doctor\_Jackson](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Doctor_Jackson)\ **Post date:** [March 4, 2000, 6:56am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/velvet-ant/8053/16 "2000-03-04T06:56:00Z")
You know, there are times when I am really tempted to break ranks with Chief Scott and put a smiley after my post. But I ain’t.