velvet ant

American  

noun

1. any of several fuzzy, often brightly colored wasps of the family Mutillidae, the wingless, antlike female of which inflicts a severe sting.

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velvet ant British  

noun

1. a solitary digger wasp of the family Mutillidae

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Etymology

Origin of velvet ant

An Americanism dating back to 1740–50

Example Sentences

As the team examined the velvet ant’s phylogenetic history, they found that the wasps evolved their white fuzz around the same time as deserts formed in the southwest, further supporting their hypothesis.

From New York Times

At Bug Camp, he can show off his favorite catches - a velvet ant, a blue dragonfly, a green scarab - to campers who are just as into it.

From Washington Times

James Pitts, an entomologist at Utah State University, has found evidence that about 37 percent of nocturnal velvet ant species emerged millions of years after the mountain range was formed.

From New York Times

The creosote fruit and the female D. gloriosa, also called the thistledown velvet ant — which is a wasp, not an ant — are near perfect doppelgängers.

From New York Times

They then created a mathematical algorithm to assign dates of origin to every known species of the nocturnal velvet ant in the region.

From New York Times