Big Purple Ants

[KanoasDestiny]

I'm just wondering if anyone knows what they are called? They are the size of big red ants (maybe a bit bigger), and have a purplish color when the sun hits them. In the shade, they might be a brownish color, but definately not black (we have those ones too). If they bite you, it stings for days! I've tried to find information online about them, but I'm not coming up with much without a name. Does anyone know what ants I'm talking about?

 

[Jill]

I don't know, but I was trying to find it for you at the site below. Now, though, I feel sick to my stomach! I'm not even kidding... bugs just gross me out so much! Ants aren't so disgusting but my search results yielded too many beetle type bugs

Urgh... the other day I saw a headling on the Drudge Report that said something like "Man Dies Two Days After Winning Roach Eating Contest". So much for wanting dinner LOL!!!

http://www.insectidentification.org/

Happy hunting

 

[Hosscrazy]

Nope - we don't have them here (at least I haven't seen any)

And Jill - I heard that on the news the other night.... YUK!!!!!!

Liz N.

 

[Riverrose28]

In my area we have a bug called a red velvet ant, but it is really a wasp. The females do not fly and are bright red with a black band and can sting, if they gang up on you you're in trouble, as they are also called cattle killers. The males do fly and are dark in color, maybe what you have is something similar.

 

[Sonya]

I hate bugs...all of them. You are in CA right? I bet with your warmer wrather you have sone nasty ones there...I don't think we have any large red ants, but we have those little pi $$ ants that bite but it doesn't sting for days.

We have lots of these things in the late spring/early summer:

http://bugguide.net/node/view/3105

I am petrified of them...twice one flew in my hair and I was in hysterics...since the hair incidents I officially have a phobia of these Giant Stag beetles. I will honestly scream like a little girl and if one lands on me, I get so upset I could almost cry...I hate them.

Then this year we came across these out in the woods in the summer:

http://www.cyberbee.net/column/stinging/cicadakiller.shtml

They were huge, close to 2" long....yes I was petrified again.

 

[KanoasDestiny]

Oh my gosh, I've never even heard of some of the bugs you guys are talking about. Thank you for posting the link Jill, and making me lose my appetite for lunch. Lol. Who in their right mind would even think about eating a bug, let alone a cockroach. I think I'd rather die then to eat them, even in a life or death situation. That scene in Hidalgo with the grasshoppers makes me quesy. The closest thing I can find to the ant I asked about is the purple meat ant, but they're located in Australia. :/

 

[Sonya]

'meat' ant....oh my the name makes me quesy without seeing a picture. Could be an invasive species...I think you should do CA a favor and kill them

 

[disneyhorse]

Velvety tree ants maybe?

 

[KanoasDestiny]

Disney, those just might be them! But in our case, they live in the ground. They are sooo mean. I've been bitten several times when they crawl up and bite me out of the blue - not in self defense. I'm allergic to the big red ants, and even though I'll swell twice my size and it hurts horribly, that pain is nothing compared to the other ones.