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Can anyone id this worker?


Best Answer Aaron567 , July 22 2021 - 11:34 AM

This is some kind of mutillid wasp, also known as velvet ant. Not sure which genus, though.

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#1 Offline GreekAnts - Posted July 22 2021 - 11:16 AM

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Today I was out searching for queens and looking at some local ant colonies just out of curiosity and then I found a strange looking ant running around on its own,I manage to catch it with my hand (carefully) and decided to put it in my testube and take some photos of it but my phone's camera was really bad, I tried to find its nest or other similar ants but I couldn't find anything so I decided to take it with me home and put it on the microscope to see it and try to id it, because I couldn't take good photos with the ant inside the testube and there was no point on release it because it was a single worker, I froze it in the refrigerator,here some pics of it. I hope someone can Id it. I would be greatful!







ps: I know it was not the best thing to do (cathing it and then froze it) but it was alone anyways and there was a lot of messors around so I guess it had a lot of chances to die, at least now I got photos of it and I can try to id it (with your help).

Thanks for any help!  :)


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#2 Offline GreekAnts - Posted July 22 2021 - 11:24 AM

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Oh sorry I forgot:
-I found it on Athens,Greece (filopappou)
-todays date
-3mm length

the location was forest/park kinda dry (low himidity and high temps (30-35C)
It was small and fast running around like crazy, also I think it was playing dead too.
 



#3 Offline Aaron567 - Posted July 22 2021 - 11:34 AM   Best Answer

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This is some kind of mutillid wasp, also known as velvet ant. Not sure which genus, though.


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#4 Offline GreekAnts - Posted July 22 2021 - 11:38 AM

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This is some kind of mutillid wasp, also known as velvet ant. Not sure which genus, though.

What? so this is a wasp? yikes I hate and I am super afraid of them.. xD  now I don't feel so guilty for frozing it 


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#5 Offline Manitobant - Posted July 22 2021 - 11:52 AM

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They have a horrible sting too, and are called cow killers for this reason.
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#6 Offline GreekAnts - Posted July 22 2021 - 12:11 PM

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They have a horrible sting too, and are called cow killers for this reason.

I am so lucky it didn't sting me.. omg I can't imagine the pain  :o 
Really thanks for the info!!!


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#7 Offline ponerinecat - Posted July 22 2021 - 6:49 PM

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The pain of the sting is more or less positively associated with the size of the wasp species involved, or so I remember. A species this small should have a relatively mild sting, probably topped in intensity by a lot of common ant species.


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