BajaNomad - Need Help with Identification of Crawling Critter

Need Help with Identification of Crawling Critter

DianaT - 10-22-2009 at 01:53 PM

It looks just like a tiny fluffy feather blowing across and sand---in fact the dogs chased it for a bit. Then John noticed that it was not blowing, it was crawling---off to grab the camera.

With no color enhancement, this is how it blends in.

It does burrow and the spoon was used to entice it out and shows the size---that is a table spoon---was not going to touch this thing.

View from above

Then John took the camera and laid flat out on the ground to capture more views.

The rear end.

He even got the all important eye of the critter.

What is it???? In some ways it looks like some kind of tiny tarantula??

Thanks---I am sure someone knows what it is.

Diane

JESSE - 10-22-2009 at 01:58 PM

Its an ant, don't touch it, their sting is moe painful than a bee.

Fuzzy wuzzy

tehag - 10-22-2009 at 02:02 PM

Daysmutilla gloriosa - thistledown velvet ant - mata mula

A wasp, actually, with a very potent sting, thus the mule killer name in Spanish.

Super photos. Hard to get of this perpetual-motion species.

Bajagypsy - 10-22-2009 at 02:07 PM

I would seriously pee my pants if that was in my house, or on me. It looks way to much like spiders, and I do not like spiders.

CAUTION!!!!!!!!!

Bronco - 10-22-2009 at 02:19 PM

Last time I saw one of these was in the jungles of Irian Jaya, Indonesia.
Genus- Furus Sputi Deadi. If you came within 2ft of this species I recommend you run as fast as you can to your neighbors. Be sure you do not open your mouth, it spreads, drink as much Presidente or equivalent as possible. Symptoms are spinning sensation, possible rapid pulse and nervousness. Within ten minutes the elixir will have taken effect and you should be warm and fuzzy.

noproblemo2 - 10-22-2009 at 02:19 PM

What ever it is, keep it there.......

Thank You

DianaT - 10-22-2009 at 02:19 PM

That was quick! Thanks, and we sure are happy we decided NOT to touch it!

It was not easy to photograph the way it moves. We really like the Spanish name of mata mula---that sends a real message.

Gypsy, actually if one blew through your house, you probably would not think anything of it. It is so small and we have seen them before and really thought they were blowing feathers----real down like feathers from birds.

It moves just like it is blowing in the wind---for some reason, today John noticed something different. And like so many crawling thinks, they look so different up close with magnification.

Thanks again,
Diane and John

DianaT - 10-22-2009 at 03:16 PM

Quote:

Originally posted by noproblemo2
What ever it is, keep it there.......

Actually, after finding out its name, I googled it and it is a very interesting creature.

http://www.desertusa.com/mag01/feb/papr/ant.html

Couple of interesting facts---This one must have been a female---they can not fly, but they do the stinging. The males fly, but do not sting.

Velvet ants have been found in fossilized amber as old as 20 to 40 million years old----really interesting if the world is only 6000 years old. :biggrin:

Fun to discover something new to us and learn a little more about it, especially since it shares our living space.

Insects really do rule the world.

Diane

BTW---tehag, I love your signature quote.

[Edited on 10-22-2009 by DianaT]

Ken Bondy - 10-22-2009 at 03:28 PM

Super macro images Diane!! Bizarre little critter.

Me too, Diana

tehag - 10-22-2009 at 04:57 PM

It says much that I believe is true.

Skipjack Joe - 10-22-2009 at 05:20 PM

Cool picture, Diane.

The ones I've seen have always been red, orange, or yellow. I can attest to their painful bite, too. The most interesting feature to me was their solitariness. They never follow other ants. There never seems to be a velvet ant colony. They just go rumbling along. They are certainly very definitely different.

Maybe they're the bumblebee version of the ant world!

Wiles - 10-22-2009 at 07:00 PM

Yes, velvet ants are cool. Look for their burrows in the side of embankments. Common throughout the deserts of AZ, CA, and all of Baja.

Nice close-ups.

DianaT - 10-22-2009 at 07:54 PM

Quote:

Originally posted by Ken Bondy
Super macro images Diane!! Bizarre little critter.

Thanks Ken---I, of course, had the wrong lens on my camera, but fortunately the Tamron telephoto John has on his camera is also a macro----

Quote:

Originally posted by Skipjack Joe
Cool picture, Diane.

The ones I've seen have always been red, orange, or yellow. I can attest to their painful bite, too. The most interesting feature to me was their solitariness. They never follow other ants. There never seems to be a velvet ant colony. They just go rumbling along. They are certainly very definitely different.

Maybe they're the bumblebee version of the ant world!

Thanks, it really was a team effort to capture this one with the camera. We will take your word about the sting. We have no desire to test it out for ourselves. :biggrin:

Quote:

Originally posted by Wiles
Yes, velvet ants are cool. Look for their burrows in the side of embankments. Common throughout the deserts of AZ, CA, and all of Baja.

Nice close-ups.

Thanks---they are cool. I really enjoyed reading about them on the Desert USA link---hope to see some of the other ones some time----close enough to photograph, but not too close.

Amazing how many stinging critters we are discovering in our dunes.

Diane

lingililingili - 10-23-2009 at 08:05 AM

DianeT: I'm just not very happy about the bug you found!

DianaT - 10-23-2009 at 08:36 AM

Quote:

Originally posted by lingililingili
DianeT: I'm just not very happy about the bug you found!

No problem---they only live in the dunes in front of us---we won't let them travel up the hill. :lol:

tehag

DianaT - 10-27-2009 at 08:36 AM

Thought you might be interested in the local name for this creature. Out here, there are quite a few different names for things, so I do not know if this one is common in Baja or not.

A couple of friends told us it is the mulita del diablo.

It is always interesting to find out different local names in different locations.

Diane-----avoiding this little floating white feather. :biggrin:

Quote:

Originally posted by tehag
Daysmutilla gloriosa - thistledown velvet ant - mata mula

A wasp, actually, with a very potent sting, thus the mule killer name in Spanish.

Super photos. Hard to get of this perpetual-motion species.

rhintransit - 10-27-2009 at 07:23 PM

I accidentally stepped on one once, didn't see it. thought I'd stepped on a piece of glass. the bite was extremely painful and swollen for days and days. then couldn't wear a pair of shoes that touched that area for months. give them a wide berth if you see one.

ecomujeres - 10-28-2009 at 01:45 PM

Never fear you all, they won't go after you purposefully, looking for your tender places!

From all that I've read about the velvet ant, they, like many insects, will only bite/sting if threatened or trapped (like when rhintransit stepped on one).

They are fun to watch, catch in a container and study. If I recall correctly, the one we caught kind of squeaked, a high-pitch sound, while in captivity.

The wingless females supposedly wander around, traveling farther faster when it's windy, looking for nests of other insects/spiders where they can lay their egg(s) which will then parasitize the eggs/larvae in the host nest. Cool!

DianaT - 10-28-2009 at 03:07 PM

Quote:

Originally posted by ecomujeres
Never fear you all, they won't go after you purposefully, looking for your tender places!

From all that I've read about the velvet ant, they, like many insects, will only bite/sting if threatened or trapped (like when rhintransit stepped on one).

They are fun to watch, catch in a container and study. If I recall correctly, the one we caught kind of squeaked, a high-pitch sound, while in captivity.

The wingless females supposedly wander around, traveling farther faster when it's windy, looking for nests of other insects/spiders where they can lay their egg(s) which will then parasitize the eggs/larvae in the host nest. Cool!

She did move VERY quickly and was not agressive---really had a difficult time getting the pictures. They are very interesting and now that I know what they are, I notice them and like to watch them.

But, I am careful----two people have now given personal testimony as to their sting which is plenty of information for me----I have no desire to question their descriptions and try out a sting for myself. :no:

As rhintransit suggested, I give them a wide berth. And, I saw someone the other day try to kill one by stepping on it---with shoes---and it took several good stomps.

Hope we continue to discover some more little creatures. :yes:

Diane

rocmoc - 10-28-2009 at 09:55 PM

Since I was a child, we have always called them Ant Lions. We have the more common orange one here in So. AZ.

rocmoc n AZ/Mexico

BooJumMan - 11-1-2009 at 11:05 AM

Ha! Saw one of these down in Canejo. Never seen anything like it before. We thought it was a ball of dust in the wind, then all of a sudden it took a 90* turn!

durrelllrobert - 11-1-2009 at 11:19 AM

Quote:

Hope we continue to discover some more little creatures. :yes:

Diane

If you can find enough to make ameal, they are very tasty in tacos :lol:

DianaT - 11-1-2009 at 08:22 PM

Quote:

Originally posted by BooJumMan
Ha! Saw one of these down in Canejo. Never seen anything like it before. We thought it was a ball of dust in the wind, then all of a sudden it took a 90* turn!

They do disguise themselves well! We thought the dogs were just chasing a feather until it made some strange turns. :biggrin:

Quote:

Originally posted by durrelllrobert
Hope we continue to discover some more little creatures. :yes:

Diane

If you can find enough to make ameal, they are very tasty in tacos :lol:

Let's see---millipedes, scorpions----small and large, velvet ants, black widows, lizards, and the yet to be discovered creatures----could end up being quite a tasty taco for someone to try. :biggrin:

[Edited on 11-2-2009 by DianaT]