Panda ant
Jan 26, 2025
Chilean wasps commonly known as the “The Panda Ant”
Kaieteur News- Though these black-and-white insects are part of a group called velvet ants, these “pandas” are actually Chilean wasps. With a fuzzy black-and-white body, white head, and black-ringed eyes, the panda ant’s resemblance to the iconic Chinese bear is uncanny.
It’s mainly the females that look ant-like, says Denis J. Brothers of the University of Kwa-Zulu Natal in South Africa, by email. Their striking markings may act as a warning to predators—their stings pack a punch.
The males, which have wings, look much more like we expect wasps to, and they don’t have stingers. That’s because females’ stingers are modified ovipositors, or egg-laying organs, which males don’t have, says Justin Schmidt, entomologist at the University of Arizona and author of Sting of the Wild. (National Geographic)
(Panda ant)
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