第 0985 号，共 1 402 张

Cow killer velvet ant

Dasymutilla occidentalis

名字的由来： The nickname cow killer comes from its extremely painful sting. It is called an ant because it looks like one, but it is a wasp.1

只是会疼会疼，但不会对你造成严重伤害。

蜜蜂、胡蜂和大黄蜂

蜇伤吃：肉

对人的危险: 很疼可能真的很疼，但几乎从不严重。

The cow killer velvet ant is a wasp that looks like a black and red ant. It lives in the eastern United States, from Connecticut and Kansas in the north to Florida and Texas in the south. It is known for a sting so painful that it earned the nickname cow killer.1

生活在

Eastern United States, from Connecticut to Kansas in the north and Florida to Texas in the south1

北美洲

长度

1.9 cm (0.7 in)1

最高速度

约 0.5 公里/小时（0.31 英里/小时）

在陆地上, 粗略估计

它吃什么？

The young are parasites. A female lays an egg on a host larva, and the grub that hatches eats the host larva.1

Cow killer velvet ant的照片 — Cow killer velvet ant。照片：Judy Gallagher。 CC BY-SA 4.0, iNaturalist.

怎样认出它

Black overall, with bright red on the upper side of the head, thorax and abdomen.1
Females have no wings. Males have dark, translucent wings and no stinger.1
Adults reach about 1.9 cm long, the largest velvet ant in the eastern United States.1
Quick-moving, and often takes a defensive posture when threatened.1
Adults are mostly seen in the summer months.1

常被误认为： It is often mistaken for an ant because of its appearance and its common name. It is actually a wasp, and only the males have wings.1

毒液之力

蜇伤

毒液通过蜇刺出来。

它的毒液会造成什么？

Its sting is among the most painful of any insect, ranked 3 out of 4 on the Schmidt sting pain index. The venom contains a peptide called Do6a, which triggers a pain response in fruit fly larvae in laboratory studies.1

它对人有多危险？

对人的危险: 很疼可能真的很疼，但几乎从不严重。

The sting is extremely painful, ranked 3 out of 4 on the Schmidt sting pain index. This is the reason for the nickname cow killer.1

它害怕时会做什么？

It has a thickened exoskeleton, runs fast and evasively, shows warning colours, makes a squeaking sound by rubbing its abdominal segments together, releases a chemical secretion and uses its venom.1

如果它蜇人

刮掉蜜蜂的蜇针，冷敷患处。
如果这个人呼吸困难、脸或喉咙肿胀，或感觉要晕倒，这是过敏急症：拨打急救电话，如果他们有肾上腺素笔就使用。

一定先拨打你的急救电话（112、000、911）。这里是一般急救指导，不是医疗建议。急救基础

注意安全

永远不要摸、抓或逗弄野生动物，即使是很小的，即使它看起来在睡觉或已经死了。
给它留出空间。如果遇到它，保持冷静，慢慢后退，让它走自己的路。
如果被它蜇了：保持冷静，保持不动，拨打你的急救电话（112、000、911）或尽快去医院。记住它长什么样，拍张照片会有帮助。

它不是冲着你来的。它用毒液捕猎或保护自己，而且它更愿意躲起来。更多安全知识

在世界哪里？

非洲亚洲欧洲北美洲南美洲澳大利亚和大洋洲

它有多大？

它有多长？

比你的小指还短

Cow killer velvet ant和你比起来有多大？

只是在你的浏览器里算一算。什么都不会被保存或发送到任何地方。

它有多快？

一只陆龟 约 0.3 公里/小时 (0.19 mph)

Cow killer velvet ant 约 0.5 公里/小时 (0.31 mph)

一个在走路的人 约 5 公里/小时 (3.1 mph)

值得了解

事实

Both sexes squeak to warn predators. Velvet ants rub their abdominal segments together, while crickets rub their legs against their abdomen.1

North American velvet ant species form one of the most intricate mimicry rings in the natural world, split into eight separate rings of mimicry.1

Males find females by smelling pheromones and by following their squeaking sounds. They carry the female in their jaws to a shaded, safe spot to mate.1

Females are wingless, a feature shared by all females in the family Mutillidae.1

Females are believed to mate only once in their lifetime.1

谣言粉碎机

谣言： It is an ant because it looks like one and has the name ant.

真相： It is a parasitoid wasp. It is only commonly mistaken for an ant.1

给毒液专家

学名: Dasymutilla occidentalis
类别: 蜜蜂、胡蜂和大黄蜂
家人: Mutillidae2
排序: Hymenoptera
大洲: 北美洲
宝宝: A female lays a single egg onto a host larva, such as one of the eastern cicada killer or horse guard wasp, and the grub that hatches eats the host larva.1
对人的危险: 2 / 5: 很疼3