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Wingless wasps creating a buzz

Female cow killer ants are actually wingless wasps, who got their cow killer nickname from an old wives' tale claiming the female's sting is so powerful, it could kill a cow.

GASTONIA, N.C. -- As more people go outside to enjoy the warm weather, experts advise to be on the lookout for velvet ants, also known as cow killer ants. The name is scarier than the actual bug.

Female cow killer ants are actually wingless wasps, who got their cow killer nickname from an old wives' tale claiming the female's sting is so powerful, it could kill a cow.

Phillip Nixon of Gastonia's Nixon Exterminating said a cow killer ant's sting can hurt, but like a bumble bee sting, the amount of pain depends on how one's body reacts to it.

"They prey on other bees and wasps," Nixon said. "They're not a social insect. They don't have a nest."

Nixon added the bugs mainly stay outside, and he said the few times he's run into these ants, he was stunned by their resilience.

"You can't kill it!" he recalled. "I've never seen any kind of insect that you can't kill. I probably had to step on it five or six times."

To learn more about velvet/cow killer ants, visit the NC State's Department of Entomology's page.

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