INSECT FROM HELL

[Paul Hoskins]

This insect is usuallycalled the red velvet ant or cow killer ant. Actually, it is neither one. It is a female wingless wasp. The males have wings. They're  mostly found in the eastern part of the USA. Fairly common in SE Kentucky where I grew up. We called them rubber ants becaause you could stomp one & it would just keep crawling. They could sting you from any position. They had the most painful sting I ever felt. More like being bitten by a copperhead snake. They could do it over & over. Never seemed to run out of venom. ........My guess is the reason they got the moniker m
cow killer ant was because if someone found a dead cow in the field, there was usually several red velvet "ants" feeding on it. Rednecks just assumed ants killed it. .......They're beautiful insects but I suppose  the bright coloring is a warning.  DON'T TOUCH ME & DON'T STEP ON ME BAREFOOT. .......Paul H  ....

[gitano]

I've seem 'em. Nasty, like all wasps.

Paul