Dasymutilla occidentalis Dasymutilla occidentalis Dasymutilla occidentalis (red velvet ant or eastern velvet ant), is a species of parasitoid wasp native to the eastern United States. It is commonly mistaken for a member of the true ant family, as the female is wingless. The species ranges from Connecticut to Missouri in the north and Florida to Texas in the south. Other common names include cow ant and cow killer. The eastern velvet ant is the largest of the velvet ant species in the United States, attaining an approximate length of 0.75 in (1.9 cm). Adults display aposematic coloration, consisting of black overall coloring
Jack jumper ant in his "Catalogue of hymenopterous insects in the collection of the British Museum part VI", under the binomial name "Myrmecia pilosula" from specimens he collected in Hobart in Tasmania. There, Smith described the specimens of a worker, queen and male. The type specimen is located in the British Museum in London. In 1922, American entomologist William Morton Wheeler established the subgenus "Halmamyrmecia" characterised by its jumping behaviour, of which the jack jumper ant was designated as the type species. However, John Clark later synonymised "Halmamyrmecia" under the subgenus "Promyrmecia" in 1927 and placed the ant in the subgenus in 1943.