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Project Noah Nature School
Dasymutilla pseudopappus
Thistledown Velvet Ant spotted in crawling in the sand on the bank of the Rio Grande in Big Bend National Park, TX. At first I thought this was just a tuft of fuzz blowing across the sand, but upon further inspection realized it was in fact a small insect!
While this specific Thistledown Velvet Ant was spotted in Big Bend National Park, TX, they range across Utah, Nevada, California, Arizona, New Mexico, Texas and Mexico.
Only females are wingless, and females can administer a very painful sting as a defense mechanism. Also, the females of this species are camouflaged by their resemblance to the fruit of Creosotebush, which occurs in the same habitats.
Spotted on Jul 18, 2022
Submitted on Jul 18, 2022
