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DianaT
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Need Help with Identification of Crawling Critter
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
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JESSE
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Its an ant, don't touch it, their sting is moe painful than a bee.
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tehag
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Fuzzy wuzzy
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.
Certainty is the child of ignorance, knowledge is the mother of doubt. Question everything!
http://bcsbirds.com |
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Bajagypsy
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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.
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Bronco
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CAUTION!!!!!!!!!
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.
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noproblemo2
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What ever it is, keep it there.......
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DianaT
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Thank You
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
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DianaT
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| 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. 
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]
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Ken Bondy
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Super macro images Diane!! Bizarre little critter.
carpe diem!
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tehag
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Me too, Diana
It says much that I believe is true.
Certainty is the child of ignorance, knowledge is the mother of doubt. Question everything!
http://bcsbirds.com |
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Skipjack Joe
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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!
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Wiles
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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.
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DianaT
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| 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.
| 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
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lingililingili
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DianeT: I'm just not very happy about the bug you found!
•Life is just one damned thing after another
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DianaT
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| 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. 
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DianaT
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tehag
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.
| 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. |
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rhintransit
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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.
reality\'s never been of much use out here...
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ecomujeres
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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!
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DianaT
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| 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. 
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. 
Diane
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rocmoc
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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
rocmoc n AZ/Mexico
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