The hairy and colored velvety ants may occur worldwide. But, if you want to know more precisely where velvet ants are found, this article is for you.
Quick answer: among 8100+ species of velvety ants, almost 500 species may find in the southern and western parts of the United States of America. The velvety ants live in dry, sunny, and sandy areas of these specific parts of America.
But you may also find these velvety ants in the sunny and sandy areas of different parts of the world. This article will provide you with the habitat of different types of velvety ants worldwide.
Again, this article will teach you a little about the external facts of some of the popular velvety ants. So after completing this article, you will also identify different velvety (red and blue) ants from various places worldwide.
Where are velvet ants found?
There are 8100+ species of velvety ants living in different parts of the world. But most of them (velvet ants species) are found in the United States of America.
Among these large species of velvety ants, the followings types are more common in different states of the USA –
- Red velvety ants (cow killer ants),
- Blue velvety ants, and
- Velvety tree ants,
But where are these velvety ants found in the USA or other parts of the world? Well, these velvety ants love to make their nest in dry, sunny, and sandy areas. But, this may vary in the case of the velvety tree ants.
The velvety tree ants of the USA love to make their nest under the bark of a tree. Sometimes, they also make their nest in the opening of the hard tree.
In some cases, you may find both red and blue velvety ants in the opening of different wooden furniture of the buildings. Again, the female velvety tree ant loves to crawl the leaves of the tree.
“Velvety ants don’t like to live in colonies, and individual ant finds crawling on open ground.”
So, let’s see the summary of the areas where you will find the red, blue, and red tree velvety ants from table 1 –
| Velvety ants | Red velvety | Blue velvety ants | Velvety tree ants |
| Where were they found? | Dry and sunny area, Open sandy areas, | Open sunny area, Under rocks, Base of plants, Under loose bark, | Crawl on leaves, Under tree’s bark, Hole of hard tree, |
From the above–mentioned information, you can easily understand that velvety ants love the open sunny area to live.
What states are velvety ants found?
You know, most of the species (almost 500+) are found in different states of the USA. Let’s see the states where you will find the red, blue, and most popular velvety tree ants from table 2 –
| Velvety ants distribution | Velvety tree ants | Red velvety ants | Blue velvety ant |
| California | ++ | ||
| Arizona | ++ | ||
| Colorado | ++ | ||
| Nevada | ++ | ||
| Oregon | ++ | ||
| New mexico | ++ | ||
| Utah | ++ | ||
| Texas | ++ | ||
| Washington | ++ | ||
| Wyoming | ++ | ||
| Kansas | ++ | ||
| Florida | ++ | ||
| Connecticut | ++ | ||
| Missouri | ++ | ||
| Oklahoma | ++ |
Among these 500+ species of velvety ants, you may find at least 40+ species in Colorado, USA. The dry open areas of southern and western Colorado, USA, are one of the best habitats for velvety tree ants.
Again, the red and blue velvety ants will mostly find in the northern and western areas of the United States of America.
Velvety ant species
There are huge species of velvety ants, so it is quite impossible to cover them in this article. Rather, it will be better to present the more popular velvety ants from these species.
But, you may read more information from the below-mentioned suggested books –
- Ants of Florida – identification and natural history,
- Ants of North America, and
- Identification guide of ants genera to the world,
Here, I will show you some of the external features of the red velvety, blue velvety and velvety tree ants with pictures. So that you may easily identify these velvety ants species from different northern, southern, and western areas of the United States of America.
Red velvety ants
The color of the velvety ants may vary from red orange, and yellow. But, the red velvety is more popular and attractive for their body color.
In the red velvety ant, you will find red color in the head, thorax, and abdomen. But, you will find white or black velvety abdomen in the red velvety ants.
You will also find the below-mentioned features in a red velvety ant –
- The length of the red velvety varies from 3 – 12 millimetres,
- Sometimes, they possess red and blackish head and red thorax,
- The abdomen of the velvety red shows the red and black color combination (possess black stripes),
- The junction between the thorax and abdomen of red velvety possess a single node (petiole),
- You will see the black colored legs (6 legs) in red velvety ants,
Other external features of the red velvety ants are similar to the other ideal ants. You will find the short antennae on a velvety ant with 10 – 12 segments.
The above information might help identify the red velvety ants from different regions. You know, the female queen of any ant species has wings.
Suggested article for you from insect pets –
But, the female queen of the red velvety ants is wing less large ants compared to the male or worker. In contrast, the male red velvety ants possess wings and look like a wasp.
Where are red velvety ants found?
The red velvety ants are found in the open dry, and sandy areas of Connecticut, Missouri, Kansas, and Florida in the United States of America. Again, other some of the states of the USA also possess red velvety ants.
You will find the idea of the red velvety ants’ habitant in table 2.
Blue velvety ant
Blue velvety ants are also more common in Oklahoma and Missouri in the United States of America. They also look attractive for their combined body color.
The followings are the identification points for the blue velvety ants –
- The length of the blue velvety ants varies from 1 – 6 millimetres,
- You will find the deep blue color on its head, thorax, and also in the abdomen,
- But, the in the node (between thorax and abdomen), you will find a black color,
- The deep blue abdomen of the blue velvety ant also possesses dark black color stripes,
Again, this blue velvety also possesses one node in the junction between its thorax and abdomen. You will also find 6 black-colored legs in the blue velvety ants.
Again, the black or white stripes on the abdomen of blue velvety ants are more common. Most of the velvety ants possess white or black stripes on their abdomen.
You may know more about other ants that have stripes on their abdomen or other segments of the body from the below-mentioned article –
Now, let’s know a little about the external features of the velvety tree ants with pictures. You may also find more pictures of different types of velvety ants on social media of insect pets.
Velvety tree ants in the USA
In California and Colorado in the United States of America, you will find huge velvety tree ants. Some authors term this ant as the California velvety tree ants.
The length of this tree velvety ant is comparatively shorter than red or blue velvety ants. They are omnivores and love to take honeydew and other insects.
You will find the below-mentioned external features in the velvety tree ants in California and Colorado in the United States of America –
- The length of the velvety tree ant varies from 4 – 7 millimetres,
- The head of the velvety tree ants is brownish-black,
- The thorax of the velvety tree ant is red, but the abdomen is velvety black,
- You will see the single node in between the junction of the thorax and abdomen of the velvety tree ant,
The male and worker velvety tree ants possess more colored fine hair on their body and abdomen than female queens. They also don’t like to stay in the colonies; if they stay in a colony, you will find only one queen in the velvety tree ants.
All the velvety tree ants (especially red, blue, and tree) possess stingers. The stingers of these velvety ants are very painful, but they don’t cause any generalized reaction like the bullet, carpenter ants or red imported fire ants.
Suggested articles from insect pets for you –
- Carpenter ants with wings – all facts with pictures, and
- What do fire ants look like – red imported fire ant facts,
Frequently asked questions on velvety ants
Ant lovers like to ask various questions about velvety ants – their species, area of habitat, external features, and others. Here, I will enlist these questions on the velvety ants with concise answers.
So, let’s see the questions and answer on the different types of velvety ants that insect lovers ask –
Where are velvet ants found in the US?
The various types of velvety ants are found in different states from southern, northern, and western parts of the US. You will find more velvety tree ants in California and Colorado states of the US.
Again, more red and blue velvety ants are found in the northern and western parts (1) of the US.
Are velvet ants rare?
No, the velvet ants are not rare. You will find almost 8100+ species of velvety ants throughout the world. But, most of the popular species of velvety ants are present in the different states of the USA.
In California and Colorado, USA, you will find more than 40 species of velvety ants. Rather than the USA, you will see remarkable numbers of velvety ants in the United Kingdom, Australia, and Mexico.
Are velvet ants dangerous to dogs?
No, the velvety ants are not dangerous to dogs. This is because the velvety ants are calm and quiet insects.
They possess stronger stingers, but stingers don’t ly sting dogs or other animals. If they (velvety ants) sting dogs, they may feel pain. But, the stings of the velvety ants don’t cause any allergic or other serious reactions in dogs.
In some cases, some of the velvety ant species become more aggressive and can bite the dog. The bite and sting of these velvety ants are more painful for dogs.
Where does a velvet ant come from?
A velvety ant comes mostly from southern and western areas of the United States of America. The red velvety ants are considered native to the eastern area (1) of the United States of America.
Are velvet ants friendly?
Yes, the velvety ants are friendly. Typically, the velvety ants are considered the calmest and quite insects.
They (red or blue velvety ants) may be good pets for an ant’s keeper.
Conclusion
I hope you got the basic idea of your question – where are velvety ants found? As the most colourful and attractive insects, you might have a good piece of knowledge on the habitat of various types of velvety ants.
Again, you might know the external features of red, blue, and tree velvety ants to identify them from the different areas of the USA and other parts of the world.
