velvet ant

American

noun

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

velvet ant British

noun

a solitary digger wasp of the family Mutillidae

"Collins English Dictionary — Complete & Unabridged" 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012

Etymology

Origin of velvet ant

An Americanism dating back to 1740–50

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velvet ant

In some species, such as the common wasp and the velvet ant, males have developed “pseudo-stings”— two spines on the tip of the abdomen or on the genitalia — to look fierce.

From New York Times ● Dec. 19, 2022

Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023