Have you ever seen those little insects that look like giant ants? They are wasps, but they don’t fly. I only guessed they were wasps, but I was right. Something in their look maybe.
They crawl around just like an ant, their black and white spotted backsides looking a bit like a striking ladybird. Their reddish brown front halves look kind of velvety up close.
Recently, however, I felt incredible relief that I have never reached out and tried to feel that velvet texture for myself.
I was curious, so I searched ‘ant wasp South Africa’ and got the name mutillidae. It’s called a velvet ant. It’s a wasp, and the female walks around.
That same pretty ant-like female is also called a cow killer. A bit more reading revealed why.
While it isn’t toxic enough to actually kill a cow, the humans who have been stung by them have experienced such intense pain that, as the story goes, the wasp could easily kill a cow.
I’ve been stung by many things here in this wild garden of mine, but I’m so grateful that a cow killer has not been on that list.
My babies have crawled around the porch for years next to cow killer wasps. Who knew? We always just said ‘look with your eyes not your fingers’ and gave the creature its space.
The same goes for the snakes, monkeys, scorpions, brown button spiders, and the many other wild things that share our little slice of paradise here in the world.
While knowing what a mamba looks like is a life skill in Oribi Gorge, knowledge isn’t always power.
Respect for nature can be taught from little, even if you have no idea that the creature you are eye to eye with daily has the power to put you in real danger.
They deserve respect either way. This is their home just as much as it is ours. Look with your eyes and, if you can help it, don’t touch.
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