Actually, it is not an ant at all but one of the 475 species of Velvet Ant parasitic wasps in North America. It is always in solitude that you will find these ants.

Manley relates that, although it took more than 20 years of working with the non-aggressive insects to get stung, the sting was a painfully memorable experience that he intends never to repeat. The females have a very painful sting if handled.

These red and black colored insects are wasps , not true ants , and they attack bumblebee hives and other insect nests to lay their eggs. Velvet ants are not aggressive and will try to escape from you. There will be 10 most dangerous ants in our list below, so let’s see how dangerous they can be.

Females are wingless and covered with dense hair, superficially resembling ants. So why are they called velvet ants?

The name "Cow Killer Ant" was given to the velvet ant because of the reputation of the female's sting. The Mutillidae are a family of more than 7,000 species of wasps whose wingless females resemble large, hairy ants.Their common name velvet ant refers to their dense pile of hair, which most often is bright scarlet or orange, but may also be black, white, silver, or gold.
They can be found worldwide, but in Nebraska, the most common velvet ant is the cow killer ant, Dasymutilla occidentalis.

Male velvet ants are often found on flowers, although some species are nocturnal.

Figure 2. Where I grew up in Oklahoma we called them Cow Killers! It is more related to bees and wasps than it is to true ants.

Because velvet ants are uncommon and do not cause any damage, no chemical control is recommended. If you come across a colony of big red ants in the yard or near your home, your first instinct may be to sound the fire ant alarm. These pests will occasionally enter structures for insect prey. This will cause swelling.

We all know that the red velvet ants are also known as cow killer ants, but the question is: can these ants really kill a cow? Load More Sounds nice and sweet.

They also feed on dead insects and animal waste.

Because velvet ants are uncommon and do not cause any damage, no chemical control is recommended.
Velvet ants are also well known for their very painful sting, so it is better not to provoke them.

Female cow killer ants are typically seen running somewhat erratically on the ground, especially on bare or sandy areas in the warm summer months.

The Eastern Velvet Ant - also known as the Cow Killer - is not an ant at all, though it looks and walks like one.

This is especially true since ants and wasps both tend to have a constriction between the abdomen and thorax, which makes them appear to have a very narrow waist. The answer is no, they cannot kill cows and can be supposed to do the same in your dreams, but this doesn’t happen in practical life. One velvet ant that is commonly submitted for identification is the ‘cow killer.’ The cow killer is the largest of the velvet ants in Kentucky, nearly an inch in length.

Common Name: Red velvet ant or “cow killer” Scientific Name: Dasymutilla occidentalis (Linnaeus) Order: Hymenoptera Description: These insects are wasps, not ants.