Cow ant

Description:

Red and black ant. Small but bigger than a regular ant. Also has painful bites.! Range from 1/8 to 1-inch long.

Habitat:

Over 150 species of velvet ants (cow ants) exist throughout the US,Southern Canada,and Mexico. They are found in suburban and agricultural ares of South Florida. Velvet ants are solitary wasps, and only the females will be seen wandering about.

Notes:

An cow ant has very difficult bites. The exoskeleton of all cow ants is usually tough. This characteristic allows them to successfully invade the nests of their prey and also helps them retain moisture. Males have wings but females uniformly are wingless. The mature ants feed on nectar.