Have you ever seen a fuzzy looking ant? Maybe it looked like a little pipe cleaner with fuzzy red or yellow hair?

If so, you probably saw a velvet ant. And here’s the thing - it’s not even an ant at all. They’re wingless wasps, and they often turn up along hiking trails, roadsides, and sometimes even in your backyard! And if you haven’t seen one, hit pause and check out the show notes on naturesarchive.com for a few photos.

What’s more, these wasps have quite the reputation and an amazing natural history.

With me today is Dr. Joseph Wilson, an evolutionary ecologist and associate professor of biology at Utah State University. Dr. Wilson is also the co-author of the new book, Velvet Ants of North America, as well as the wildly popular The Bees in Your Backyard.

I reached out to Dr. Wilson because I’ve always been fascinated with velvet ants, but found precious little information about them. I purchased the book and reached out to Dr. Wilson, and he graciously agreed to share some of his knowledge.

For example, did you know that some velvet ants have an auditory warning? And half of velvet ants are nocturnal? We discuss why we seem to usually see velvet ants deterministically wandering near trails, why they are often - and inaccurately - called cow killers, and more.

But I couldn’t have a chat with Dr. Wilson and not talk bees, so we kick things off with some discussion of bees, buzz pollination and more before transitioning to velvet ants.

Find Dr. Wilson on The Bees in Your Backyard, Facebook, Instagram, and Twitter.

FULL SHOW NOTES

MORE LINKS
Also check out our interview with Krystle Hickman (episode #66) - about finding and photographing native bees.

The Bees in Your Backyard by Olivia Messinger Carril and Joseph Wilson
Common Bees of Western North America
Common Bees of Eastern North America
Velvet Ants of North America by Williams, Pan, and Wilson

Note: books are affiliate links to Bookshop.org. Support independent bookstores AND Jumpstart Nature by purchasing through these links or our bookshop store.

Other Insect-oriented Podcasts

Just Bugs
Bug Banter
Bugs Need Heroes

Support Us On Patreon!
Buy our Merch!

Music: Spellbound by Brian Holtz Music
License (CC BY 4.0): https://filmmusic.io/standard-license
Artist site: https://brianholtzmusic.com

Discover the Jumpstart Nature Podcast - entertaining and immersive, it's the nature fix we all need.

Check past Nature's Archive episodes for amazing guests like Doug Tallamy, Elaine Ingham, and Gabe Brown, covering topics from bird migration to fungi to frogs and bats!