Dasymutilla satanas

Introduction:

Velvet ants – actually wasps – get their name from the hairs that cover their body, and because they resemble ants. The flightless females, which are often encountered while wandering on the ground, especially resemble ants. Male D. satanas have the head and mesosoma entirely black, while much of the metasoma has red/orange setae (they look similar to D. klugii and D. magnifica males). Female D. satanas have the head, mesosoma and metasoma covered with orange setae. Velvet ants are active during the day, and they may be some of the first insects to hit the trail in the morning and last to settle in for the night. They retreat from high ground temperatures in the middle of the day by burrowing under debris or climbing into plants. Nectar is their preferred food. Velvet ants are active from April through November, depending upon local climate. If you see a walking velvet ant, you can be assured that it is a female.
Life Cycle: Females seek out specific host nests, often those of bees or wasps. Female velvet ants locate host nests and lay a single egg on or near a host larva. The velvet ant larva hatches and develops as an ectoparasitoid, feeding on the host larva within its cell. The larva constructs a cocoon within the host's cell and pupates.

Size 0.75 inch (19 mm)
Sexual Dimorphism: true
Metamorphosis: complete (egg, larva, pupa, adult)