A sweet boy. This is a male velvet ant, which is a type of wasp. The wingless females are notorious for their painful stings and RUNNING VERY FAST, but males are stingless and can be slowed down with HANDS.
Picked up him during a guided hike I help out with called “Tiny Predators, Tiny Prey,” on predators of the insect and spider worlds. Very fitting hike for a velvet ant to show up on! I got everybody to gather round and check him out.
Dasymutilla scaevola velvet ant, at Buescher State Park in Smithville, TX Seen May 19, Posted July 31, 2018
“I think women like to read about murderous mothers and lost little girls because it’s our only mainstream outlet to even begin discussing female violence on a personal level. Female violence is a specific brand of ferocity. It’s invasive. A girlfight is all teeth and hair, spit and nails — a much more fearsome thing to watch than two dudes clobbering each other. And the mental violence is positively gory. Women entwine. Some of the most disturbing, sick relationships I’ve witnessed are between long-time friends, and especially mothers and daughters. Innuendo, backspin, false encouragement, punishing withdrawal, sexual jealousy, garden-variety jealousy — watching women go to work on each other is a horrific bit of pageantry that can stretch on for years. Libraries are filled with stories on generations of brutal men, trapped in a cycle of aggression. I wanted to write about the violence of women. […] I particularly mourn the lack of female villains — good, potent female villains…I’m talking violent, wicked women. Scary women. Don’t tell me you don’t know some. The point is, women have spent so many years girl-powering ourselves — to the point of almost parodic encouragement — we’ve left no room to acknowledge our dark side. Dark sides are important. They should be nurtured like nasty black orchids.”
