Common Name: Velvet Ant
Scientific Name: Mutillidae
Size: 15-25mm
Location: Sitapaila, Kathmandu, Nepal
Although they look like ants and are also commonly known as Velvet Ant, these critters fall under the Vespoidea family in which the members are wasps and ants. Velvet Ants are generally solitary creatures, unlike ants which are social and are normally seen in multiple numbers. Velvet Ants tend to have a nasty bite which can render a human in pain for a long time. The female velvet ants are wingless.
*Pictures above are of different Velvet Ants.
Please feel free to comment below if the above species has been misidentified.
Bronwyn
Lovely! is the side view the same individual as the rear view? the patterning looks different… is it common for there to be variation? It would be great if we could zoom into the smaller photos as well as the main shot!
ansr50@gmail.com
The patterning is different as the posted pictures are of different velvet ants. My apologies for posting different photos of velvet ants and not mentioning it in the description above which I’ve corrected now. Thank you so much for the reminder, Bronwyn.
Uday Nain
Hey I found this species of velvet ants in my park. I live in Chandigarh, India. I think its the first sighting here ever. Is there a way I can find out?
ansr50@gmail.com
Hello Uday, So good to know that you found this species of velvet ant in Chandigarh. I hope you were able to photograph it. I’ve got no idea about the details of reporting the sightings in India but you could try this website http://www.entosocindia.org/.
Would love to hear how the reporting went. Do message me.