While walking through the yard I caught a glimps of a brightly colored insect traveling quickly through the grass. At first I thought it was a spider. Upon closer inspection I could see what looked like the body of an ant. It was brightly colored in rusty red and black stripes. It's six shiny legs were black and slender much like a black widow. After watching it scamper through the grass and still being unable to determine what type of insect it was I decided to capture it on video. I was not sure if the video would turn out good so I took a box out and let it run into it. I took a few still pictures and then turned it loose back into the yard. I do not know how to identify this insect so if anyone knows what it is please tell.
Unusual Ant-Spider type insect found
by CountyCamera (Subscribe)
Posted on: Sep 20, 2009 at 4:42 PM CST
Channel: Local News
Location: Tulsa Oklahoma in Creek county
It looks somewhat like a wasp but it doesn't have any wings.
I had one of these go up my shirt, it bit me 4 times before I got my shirt off. I ended up at the hospital. I've also heard them refered to as cow killers. You can step on these and they will just pop back up and walk away.
We had a lot of those in Texas...I was in elementary school last one I saw.I called them 'velvet ants' as did many adults.
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kill it its not native to wva , its from the southern states and was probably inttroduced from a visitor from the carolinas , it will kill honey bees and will disrupt the normal balance of nature , kill them if you see them
whatever it is it is very cool looking!
Red velvet ant, aka cow killer, these insects are wasps not ants. Females are wingless and has one of the most powerful bites you can ever think of. Males have wings and can not bite. Females seek out ground nesting bees. BEWARE around children!
We have these, also. It is a wasp and has a bite that'll bring down a cow. Beware... it will sting.
This is a wasp I am from NC and it is it hurts if stung by one and there is alot of people allergic to them KILL IT
All who said this is a Velvet Ant are correct. Not an ant but a wingless wasp. They also come in white, red, black, orange and tan. Females don't have wings but have stingers that can inject painful stings numerous times. (Also spiders have 8 legs).
if its something that looks attractive, but stings repeatedly without warning . . . . it could be one of several women I've dated recently.
These wasp are all over Murray Kentucky I see them in my yard ever day...is there some type of bait that will kill them...
We call them fire ants. They do sting like a wasp and it really hurts. Kill any that you see. Bad for children and adults.
GG is right. This is called a velvet ant, but is really a wingless wasp (AKA) cow killer. If you go to the site (What's that bug) they will tell you about it and any other critters that you can't identify!
I have killed 3 in my home in the past month. What is this??? It honestly lookes like a ant but with lots of legs. I killed 2 in my living room and 1 in my bath room. Are the poison or what?
Pam, they are not fire ants... they build large hills and if disrupted will swarm you and sting by the thousands... denise, if you have these things in your home.... get it sprayed--they are dangerous, very dangerous--especially for children.
I`m pretty sure this is a "fire ant". They produce a terrible sting and would suggest killing the next one you see.Especially if children play in the area in which you detected it.Can be danderous in numbers.
Listen- bees, wasps, hornets all "STING" (from the rear end) they do not "BITE" as in mouth. Their stinger doesn't have a barb on it (as Honey bees do-which leaves their stingers behind and the bee dies!) This cow ant can sting multiple times.
I am in Western Kentucky and last year I had 2 around my driveway but after reading these comments if they are back come summer they will be killed
LORA says ...
On Sunday, Sep 20 at 7:52 PM
THIS IS A COW ANY IT IS REALLY A WASP, THE BITE IS SOMETHING YOU WILL NEVER FORGET. THEY ARE NOT FOUND OF COMPANY AND WILL USUALLY RUN FROM PEOPLE, IF CONFRONTED THEY ARE VERY HARD TO KILL.