Klug's Velvet Ant

Dasymutilla klugii

Klug's Velvet Ant (Dasymutilla klugii): The Wingless Wasp With the Worst Velvet Ant Sting

Klug's Velvet Ant (Dasymutilla klugii) is a wingless wasp of the southern US and Mexico whose sting Justin Schmidt rated 3, the worst velvet ant sting on his scale.

Schmidt pain rating
3 out of 4; pain lasts up to about 30 minutes
Size
Large for a velvet ant; females never under half an inch (13 mm)
Look
Wingless female: black head and thorax, orange-red velvet abdomen
Range
Utah to Puebla, Mexico; the most common velvet ant in Texas
Hosts
Nests of ground-nesting wasps, including cicada killers
Conservation
Not evaluated by the IUCN

Habitat & range

Klug's Velvet Ant lives in south-central North America, from Utah south to the Mexican state of Puebla, and it is the velvet ant people meet most often in Texas. Females are usually seen running quickly across open, sunny ground while they search for the nests of other insects. In Texas it is easy to recognise among similar black-and-red species by its large size (never under half an inch) and by a head that is narrower than its thorax. Klug's Velvet Ant appears as an Insecta creature card in Wilder TCG.

A wasp in disguise

Velvet ants are wasps, not ants. There are about 8,000 species in the family Mutillidae, and the name comes from the females, which have no wings and look like large, hairy ants. In *Dasymutilla klugii* the female's head, thorax and legs are black, and most of her abdomen is covered in a dense pile of bright orange-red hair over a black body. Males have wings and fly in search of the wingless females. Like other velvet ants, *D. klugii* is a parasitoid: the female lays her eggs in other insects' nests, and her larvae eat the host's young. Its recorded hosts include cicada-killer wasps (*Sphecius grandis*).

Armour and warning signs

A velvet ant spends most of its life alone on open ground, so it relies on defences rather than a colony. Its bright colours warn predators off, and *D. klugii* belongs to a southern Müllerian mimicry ring, a group of similar-looking velvet ant species that share the same warning pattern. Velvet ants also release a defensive odour and make a sharp squeak by scraping two parts of the abdomen together. If that fails, their exoskeleton is extremely tough: it takes about 11 times more force to crush a velvet ant than a honey bee, and the rounded body makes bites and stings glance off.

The sting

As in all stinging wasps, only females can sting; the sting is a modified egg-laying organ (ovipositor). Entomologist Justin O. Schmidt rated the sting of *Dasymutilla klugii* a 3 on his pain scale and described it as: "Explosive and long lasting, you sound insane as you scream. Hot oil from the deep fryer spilling over your entire hand." (Schmidt, *The Sting of the Wild*, Johns Hopkins University Press, 2016). The pain lasts up to about 30 minutes. That makes it the most painful velvet ant on his scale, behind only the three insects he rated 4: the bullet ant, the warrior wasp and the tarantula hawk.

Conservation

*Dasymutilla klugii* has not been evaluated for the IUCN Red List. It is the most commonly encountered velvet ant in Texas.

Fun facts about Klug's Velvet Ant

  • Despite the name, it is not an ant: velvet ants are wasps in the family Mutillidae, and only the males have wings.
  • Justin Schmidt rated its sting 3, the most painful velvet ant sting on his scale; only the bullet ant, warrior wasp and tarantula hawk scored higher.
  • It takes about 11 times more force to crush a velvet ant than a honey bee, and their rounded bodies make bites and stings slide off.
  • When grabbed, velvet ants squeak by scraping two parts of the abdomen together; in one trial a shrew backed off every time the insect stridulated.
  • The species is named after the German entomologist Johann Christoph Friedrich Klug.

Klug's Velvet Ant vs Tarantula Hawk Wasp

On size, flight and a level-4 sting, the tarantula hawk takes this card battle, though the velvet ant's armour would make it a hard target.

There is no record of these two fighting; this is a Wilder comparison of two stinging wasps that share the deserts and dry scrub of the US Southwest. The velvet ant is wingless, armoured and carries a sting Schmidt rated 3. The tarantula hawk is a much bigger, flying spider wasp whose sting he rated 4, and it is built to subdue tarantulas.

Read more about Tarantula Hawk Wasp.

Common questions about Klug's Velvet Ant

How painful is a Klug's velvet ant sting?

Very. Justin Schmidt rated it 3 on his 4-point scale and wrote: "Explosive and long lasting, you sound insane as you scream. Hot oil from the deep fryer spilling over your entire hand." (The Sting of the Wild, 2016). The pain lasts up to about 30 minutes, and it is the most painful velvet ant sting he recorded (NHM London; Schmidt sting pain index).

Is a velvet ant an ant or a wasp?

A wasp. Velvet ants belong to the wasp family Mutillidae, with about 8,000 species. The wingless females look like big hairy ants, while the males have wings (NHM London). For a true ant with a famous sting, see the Bullet Ant.

Can male velvet ants sting?

No. As in all stinging wasps, only females can sting, because the sting is a modified egg-laying organ (ovipositor). Males have wings instead and fly in search of the wingless females (Wikipedia: Mutillidae; NHM London).

Where does Klug's velvet ant live?

In south-central North America, from Utah to Puebla, Mexico. It is the velvet ant most often encountered in Texas (Wikipedia, citing Williams et al. 2024).

Why are velvet ants so hard to squash?

Their exoskeleton is extremely tough and rounded. It takes about 11 times more force to crush a velvet ant than a honey bee, and bites and stings tend to slide off (NHM London).

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