|
|
Post by jinboo on Aug 24, 2017 19:03:57 GMT
This little guy was walking around my driveway, I am from Brazil. Any ideas what insect is this? It seems to be a huge ant, but I am not sure.
|
|
|
|
Post by isidro on Aug 26, 2017 20:29:35 GMT
Despite the bit odd-shape and enormous size, it must be a velvet ant (family Mutillidae), that are not true ants and they don't form colonies like ants does, they do not have workers, but only wingless fertile females (like the one in the video) and winged fertile males. Females have a very long sting and can be very painful. Must be some hundreds of species of velvet ants in Brazil, I have no idea of how you can identify it.
|
|
|
|
Post by trehopr1 on Aug 26, 2017 21:00:23 GMT
I concure with isidro on it being a Mutillid of some species as well as on the information he gave. If you live in Brazil it would be best to NEVER pick up anything looking like an ant . Ants are Hymenoptera after all and the vast majority of that order have evolved with very efficient defense mechanisms in place !
|
|
