Cow Killer (Dasymutilla occidentalis, a Velvet Ant)
This isn’t a great picture, but I wanted to post it because I had never seen one of these before and I think it’s pretty cool looking. It’s a species of velvet ant (Family Mutillidae) called a cow killer (Dasymutilla occidentalis). They are called this because of the very painful sting they can give. They are technically wasps, but since they are seen on the ground and in many ways look more like ants, the are commonly called ants. They are quite large, almost 2cm long, bright orange and black, and hairy. This one was on the move and I had a hard time getting the image in focus as it moved along. This one, with it partially blocked by a blade of grass, was the best of a blurry lot.