Cow Killers in the North Georgia Mountains

While we all watch summer and it's scorching heat roll in, one of the last things we notice is the reappearance of all those tiny insects. Soon enough, they will have all our attentions as they are flying past our heads and crawling all around the ground. Millions of the little creatures will be taking over your property, and in some areas even the inside of your house, while the weather is good for them. They each have fascinating features, but one you may not know what to think when you see is the Red Velvet Ant, a.k.a. the Cow Killer.

Dasymutilla occidentalis (Linnaeus) is what scientists refer to as the Cow Killer. Cow Killers sting will kill a cow, or so the name says. This is really just a name, but the sting can be quite painful to any man or cow. These are not ants as the Red Velvet Ant would imply, instead they are wasps. The female would easily be mistaken for a massive ant, because they have no wings and roam the ground. I would suggest not picking her up though, because her stinger will show you just how much of a wasp she really is. The males have big black wings and fly around the females as they hunt the grounds for their food, bumblebee larva down in their nests.

These wasps are not very aggressive so there is no need to fear them. Stay out of there way and they will stay out of theirs. The females hiss if they feel threatened, so there is a warning for you to recognize. If you find they are around your house quite often, don't walk around everywhere outside barefoot unless you wanna watch out for these ladies. They are nomadic so they are usually only around until the food is gone.

Keeping them away would be as easy as keeping the things they feed on away. This isn't terribly hard. If you keep flowers seasonally, it might be harder to keep them away. This shouldn't be too big of a problem, because they will end up preventing a lot of bumblebees and other nuisances from coming around. Red Velvet Ants will not be a threat, and should not be seen as one either. They are here to do their thing, just as we all are.

It is not uncommon to find them about anywhere that they can find food. They can even be seen in the North Georgia Mountains where I found them in my backyard. The Cow Killer is a very unique and interesting specimen. Checking out their behavior for a quick 10 or 15 minutes can be somewhat entertaining. This world needs a little more natural entertainment in such a high tech society.