![A sting to kill a cow? Red velvet ant, a.k.a. cow killer, Dasymutilla occidentalis — Bug of the Week A sting to kill a cow? Red velvet ant, a.k.a. cow killer, Dasymutilla occidentalis — Bug of the Week](https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/502d2cede4b0ab396711e089/1598274447423-5V1EE2Z1LLN5V9V5NB3M/velvetantjaws2020_1500.jpg)
A sting to kill a cow? Red velvet ant, a.k.a. cow killer, Dasymutilla occidentalis — Bug of the Week
![Red Velvet Ant (Dasymutilla occidentalis) female crawling across tree leaves, dorsal view in Houston, TX. Another common name for them is Cow Killer ants. Stock-Foto | Adobe Stock Red Velvet Ant (Dasymutilla occidentalis) female crawling across tree leaves, dorsal view in Houston, TX. Another common name for them is Cow Killer ants. Stock-Foto | Adobe Stock](https://as1.ftcdn.net/v2/jpg/04/66/16/44/1000_F_466164485_Jw678yUSoLV2QNOQQonVaKOyNILlRES6.jpg)
Red Velvet Ant (Dasymutilla occidentalis) female crawling across tree leaves, dorsal view in Houston, TX. Another common name for them is Cow Killer ants. Stock-Foto | Adobe Stock
![The indestructible insect: Velvet ants from across the United States avoid predation by representatives from all major tetrapod clades - Gall - 2018 - Ecology and Evolution - Wiley Online Library The indestructible insect: Velvet ants from across the United States avoid predation by representatives from all major tetrapod clades - Gall - 2018 - Ecology and Evolution - Wiley Online Library](https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/cms/asset/217505c7-a927-472d-ac2c-01b466941adf/ece34123-fig-0001-m.jpg)