10 thoughts on “Name That Animal

  1. Ants creep way the hell out. I can’t decide if the coloring helps lessen or increases the creep factor for me. The bristles are definitely not helping….

  2. Tim Burton ant (somehow reminds me of “The Nightmare Before Christmas”).

    Very intrigued by the bristles and the function they might serve.

  3. I’ve never seen a black-and-white one, but I’m going to guess some variety of velvet ant. Which are wasps not ants, go figure.

  4. ANSWER TIME

    There are several possible correct answers for this animal. I was introduced to him as a panda ant. Here is an excerpt from the Wiki entry:

    The Mutillidae are a family of more than 3,000 species of wasps (despite the names) whose wingless females resemble large, hairy ants. Their common name velvet ant refers to their dense pile of hair which most often is bright scarlet or orange, but may also be black, white, silver, or gold. Black and white specimens are sometimes known as panda ants due to their hair coloration resembling that of the Chinese giant panda. Their bright colours serve as aposematic signals. They are known for their extremely painful stings, hence the common name cow killer or cow ant.

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