Wow, so we’ve all seen panda bears before but, I’ve never seen a panda ant in my life until now. The Euspinolia militaris in the Mutillidae are a family of more than 3,000 species of wasps (despite looking like an ant and being referred to as such) whose wingless females resemble large, hairy ants.
This species was discovered in 1938, in Chile. Panda ants are known for their super painful stings and measure up to 8 millimeters in length. These insects are pretty nasty predators, but not to humans. On the other hand, if you’re a cow, you just might want to watch where you step.
Photo credit: photomonde.fr
There aren’t many insects in existence that can kill a cow but, the panda ant on the other hand can do so with just one sting, yes just one sting. Panda ants have a coat of fur that makes them resemble the pandas that we are all familiar with.
Photo credit: silamtao
These ants are solitary and known to live within colonies or forage with other insects of their kind, they also do not form nests.
1 comment
None of the species of velvet ants including this Panda ant can kill cows! Cow killer is a nickname that reflects how painful the sting is.