Velvet Ants

I need info. Lots. Are they Communal? Diet? Breeding?
I saw them at Ken the Bug Guy's site, then googled a picture. But all I know is the female has a horribly painful sting, while males lack any stinger. Do they sting often? Docile? Nervous? Aggressive? Is handeling possible?
Spill out everything you know about them please, and if you possibly have pics.
Also, what species are sold? What look the best?

They are not communal. Try feeding honey, or maybe fruit. You almost definitely won't have access to a male as they fly and are often hard to match with their female counterparts. Even with a male, you'd need to raise the larvae on host insects. They can be handled, but that would be stupid. Here are a couple species I've found:

Dasymutilla sackenii


Dasymutilla gloriosa


Pseudomethoca dentifrontalis/athemas


unknown male

Females of different species can be kept together in communal tanks, so I personally define them as communals. They are fairly long-lived pet bugs. One of my favorites to keep!

I always see these guys when I go camping. I bought some homing not knowing what they are until I did my research. They did fine in a plastic shoe box full of sand, no special humidity management or anything was needed. I kept them during the summer and personally I found them really boring. I just left honey in a bottle cap and they did fine on that and yes I've read that they had a painful sting and I dont recommend picking them up. They are actually wingless wasps with the exception of the male. I would say they have a nervous and at the same time care-less temperament.

Were I the Buddha, I could be content with pet tarantulas or pet rocks. But velvet ants are one of the most colorful and active pet bugs to ever grace the tanks of our hobby. Boring? Really?

Bugs In Cyberspace said:

Were I the Buddha, I could be content with pet tarantulas or pet rocks. But velvet ants are one of the most colorful and active pet bugs to ever grace the tanks of our hobby. Boring? Really?

Click to expand...

That's what I was gonna say, compared to tarantulas, velvet ants are anything but boring. I used to keep D. occidentalis during the summers and they never stopped moving! I've had success keeping them together, even the same species, as long as they are around the same size; apparently the females have an extra-tough, reinforced exoskeleton that defends them against the bites and stings of other wasps and bees which they parasitize; they would occasionally scuffle with each other in the tank, but would always come out unscathed (I heard it takes a fair bit more effort to crush one beneath the shoe that it does for most regular insects). I fed them watered-down real maple syrup and they seemed to like that.

This may be a little late, but I've managed to keep 2 D. occidentalis females of different sizes in the same tank for around 160 days. They're still going and require very little maintenance. I simply put some diluted honey in a low-brimmed dish every couple of days. They really like to hide beneath rocks or bits of clay, especially at night and I haven't noticed any fighting between them at all. I also kept females and males of various other species in the same terrarium but they didn't last as long (I think D. quadriguttata has more specific temperature requirements than other species and the males are generally shorter-lived.) As for looks, many of the western species are quite stunning (D. klugii, gloriosa, and satanas).

Hi, I just saw this thread, and I am only adding to it to say that the claims about the stings being painful are true! I caught one and foolishly alowed it to get me on the hand, and decided NOT to do that again! It was worse than a yellow jacket sting.