THE COW KILLER

The velvet ant is not actually an ant but is instead a wasp. The female of the species is wingless and looks like a corpulent ant wearing a fuzzy red (or yellow) and black Hudson Bay blanket; the male has wings, can fly, and often bears little resemblance to the female.

When pregnant, the mama velvet ant will enter the lair of other species of wasps or bees which live in dens in the ground and lay her eggs near the host bug larvae, which will then become the food of the future baby velvet ants.  She will also kill the adult host bug.

The female velvet ant is not aggressive (see previous paragraph for a possibly contrary opinion from other wasps or bees) and relies on her bright color and, if molested, a loud chirping sound to deter potential predators. However, if these methods do not work, she will hulk out and go medieval on her attacker multiple times with a huge stinger.

The female velvet ant is also known as the "cow killer," as her sting is so painful (3.0 on the Schmidt Sting Pain Index) that it was once believed to have been powerful enough to dispatch even a 1,500 pound bovine.  The boy velvet ant, who has no stinger, will nonetheless act like he does have one and will usually be able to bluff his way out of dangerous situations.