Comments on: Mysterious red ant wasp

By: Tracy

Tracy — Sun, 16 Nov 2008 23:47:01 +0000

Saw one of these yesterday. I had never seen anything like it before and was very curious. At first I thought it was an ant, but don’t ants run in packs? My son (11years) said “you know what they say, don’t touch anything that is of bright color - could be poisonous.” Would be interested to know if they do nest like other ants or wasp or are they solo like spiders? Anyone know? Danville, CA

By: krissy

krissy — Sat, 06 Sep 2008 17:02:12 +0000

wow i saw one just like it a min ago and it was in my pool it really freaked me out and at first i thought it was a spider then a wasp then i thought maybe thats what they call the cow ant! i was like what the hell iz that!!!
ive never seen anything like it!!!
i was so curious that i went and got a big tall glass and scoped it up and looked at it for a while then went straight to the computer to find out about it it was furry and big
what ever it is, it looks VERY Dangerous like it would hurt really bad if it stung you

By: Penny

Penny — Mon, 01 Sep 2008 17:00:37 +0000

I was outside our home a few minutes ago and saw one of these ants (or female wasps) crawling around in our driveway. The one I saw was at least two inches long and half inch across the back. I knew better than to touch it, but I was going to catch it, so I ran inside and got a jar and a lid. By the time I got back outside (about 45 seconds, tops) the thing was long gone. Didn’t look to be moving too fast to me, but apparently what I read about this bug on another website is correct. The author claimed these female wasps are very shy and will not bother you unless you back them into a corner, step on them, or touch them in any other way. (I live in South Central Kentucky near Lake Cumberland and we live in a fairly primitive area of Russell County.)

By: Shelly

Shelly — Fri, 29 Aug 2008 16:08:06 +0000

I live in Southern IL and have seen about three of these creatures just this week. They are nearly impossible to kill. I tried to step on it and finally had to twist my foot on it and even though it’s body was torn apart (sorry but I’m not taking chances of my children being bitten/stung by that thing), it was still moving around. The one I saw last night wasn’t as vibrant red as the others. My friend calls is a cow killer so I’m not sure if it’s possible for animals to die from the sting/bite or not.

By: Lesa and R. T.

Lesa and R. T. — Fri, 29 Aug 2008 02:21:20 +0000

My son and I saw this red velvet and black fuzzy ant today in Missouri!
We are glad to know what it is, thanks!!!

By: Shanon

Shanon — Thu, 28 Aug 2008 00:44:49 +0000

I just found one of these wasps in my yard tonight. I thought it was a giant Ant. It scares the crap out of me now, because I have a 3 year old son, who runs around outside without shoes. I live on the Eastern Shore of Maryland about 20 minutes from the beach, and I never thought I would find an insect like this. I just wonder what exactly a sting from one of these things is like. Could it kill you? I personally am very allergic to bees, wasps and hornets, so I will be staying inside now. LOL.

By: anonymous

anonymous — Wed, 27 Aug 2008 02:24:33 +0000

I have seen these wasps quite a few times wondering to myself what in the world they were. I’ve always thought of them as ants too. I live in Thomasville, NC. One day I was at lunch and found one these wasps walking across a paved bicycle trail down the street from my work. I was able to catch it. It took me several stomps to get it to slow down, and then scooped it up with a cheeseburger wrapper. By the time I got it home to show it to my girlfriend it was dead. This wasp is fuzzy all over with bright red on top and black underneath. This one for some reason has a black stripe across the back of the abdomen. As I moved the wrapper out of the way to see the abdomen better a stinger came out. If the stinger touched the wrapper it would go back inside. I moved the wrapper out of the way again and the stinger came out even further. It kept going in and out like a stabbing motion. It extended out at least a quarter of an inch. It’s about one of the wildest things I have ever seen.

By: Dorothy

Dorothy — Mon, 11 Aug 2008 21:25:27 +0000

We were camping in the sierras (CA) this weekend and saw one of the light yellow ones. I asked hubby to pick it up with a stick so I could get a closer look at it. He decided to pick it up by the hairs and it bit him fast and hard. I told him not to pick it up since we didn’t know what it was. He’s allergic to hornets and he must not be allergic to wasps because it didn’t affect him. It burned for a long time though.

By: Kyle

Kyle — Mon, 11 Aug 2008 16:13:13 +0000

I live in N.C. and they seem very common around here, I was just outside walking in my back yard and i found about three of these (cow killers). I also have never seen one before, it was a interesting little thing.

By: Ciara

Ciara — Mon, 11 Aug 2008 02:08:45 +0000

We live in Alabama. I saw one going across our driveway and didn’t know what it was and my dad caught another one a couple of days ago and put it in a jar. We still have it I have searched the web and this is the first I have found… I am glad I know now because I have a small niece who plays in the yard…good to know to keep her away..thanks