Surprisingly, this charismatic "ant" from the central coastline of Chile is one of the elusive creatures and was first described in 1938. These species are also known as 'Euspinolia militaris' was nicknamed panda ant after its markings, which resembles those of a panda. Though it appears as an ant well it is actually a species of wingless wasp. These wingless wasps are related to the Red Velvet Ant who are also known as a 'cow killer' due to its painful sting which is believed to be strong enough to subdue a grown cow. Cute for a wasp, but do not let their bright colors trick you to handle them with your bare hand, but don't fall for it unless you can bear the pain of their sting. In fact, their bright color is proof of their aposematic signals, which typify them as being dangerous or venomous.
Reminiscent of the Red Velvet Ant, this specie of ant has a painful sting that can irritate anyone or anything that crosses its course. This feature is exactly what many people are familiar with. They exhibit extreme sexual dimorphism thus making it difficult for people to differentiate between the two sexes. This is to mean that the males and female are so different, thus making it difficult for many peoples to associate the two sexes unless they are mating. If you have been lucky to find them mating you must have realized that the male is somehow larger than the female. Just like in most species, the male panda ant carries the female aloft while mating. Such feature is also common in the correlated family 'Tiphiidae'.
It is considered as one of the nearly extinct species in the world, however, it lays approximately 2000 eggs in a year. Though a considerable amount of eggs to sustain their survival, unfortunately they are prone to predators that eat a good number of the young panda ants after they hatch due to their bright colors. In case these ants survive, they are to live to the ripe old age of 2 years, which is to a certain extent old for an insect as small as an ant. The female and male ants behave in the same way and they have the same body patterns.
Now let us talk more about the panda ant features. Basically, it is a wingless wasp, which is what is well known by many. Nevertheless, it is of the essence to note that very few facts are known of these species of ants. However, its size is well known to many. When fully grown, it can measure up to 8 millimeters in length, and 2-3 millimeters in height. They feed on nectar as their daily supply of food, and males tend to operate at night than female. The female ants are more active during the day. "Stenothermic" or "thermophilic" are the perfect words to characterize these small beautiful but dangerous insects. So if you come across these species of wasps don't think of lifting them or crossing their path.