Hymenoptera If you see one of these beautiful insects just look, don't touch! The name "Cow Killer" is a good indication of what a nasty sting this little gal has! The red and black coloring is a good warning that she is dangerous. Even though these insects look like large velvety ants, they are actually wingless wasps. I got stung by one when I was a child, so I can attest to their painful sting. Like other Hymenoptera (bees, wasps, and ants), only the females can sting. I love telling boys in my classes who have "Hornets" or "Yellowjackets" as a team mascot that their mascot is a girl!!! :) Females lay their eggs in bumble bee nests, the ant larvae eat the bee larvae.
Hymenoptera August 12, 2007 This male Velvet Ant, which is really a wasp, landed on our car at a park. I scrambled to get my camera out of the pack. These insects are constantly on the move, so it was difficult to photograph it. It sure didn't make things any easier when it crawled under the hood and into a few dried leaves that had collected there! We raised the hood and I scooped it onto a piece of paper to put it on the ground. Some people walked by as I was chasing this guy around with my camera and gave me a pretty funny look. I wonder what people think of me sometimes! ;) As intimidating as this insect looks, being a male, it would not have stung me. Like I tell my students, "The 'he bees' can't sting, only the 'she bees' can!" He was probably frantically racing around to find a mate. (see previous photo of the female)
I was excited to catch this Bumblebee with its tongue extended. Bumblebees use their long tongues to drink nectar from tubeshaped flowers.
