-Animals (Kingdom Animalia)

-Arthropods (Phylum Arthropoda)

-Hexapods (Subphylum Hexapoda)

-Insects (Class Insecta)

-Winged and Once-winged Insects (Subclass Pterygota)

-Ants, Bees, Wasps, and Sawflies (Order Hymenoptera)​

-Narrow-waisted Wasps, Ants, and Bees (Suborder Apocrita)

-Ants, Bees, and Stinging Wasps (Infraorder Aculeata)

-Spider Wasps, Velvet Ants, and Allies (Superfamily Pompiloidea)

-Velvet Ants (Family Mutillidae)

-Subfamily Mutillinae

-Tribe Dasymutillini

-Genus Dasymutilla

-Dasymutilla arachnoides

Velvet ants are actually not ants at all, but rather a type of wasp belonging to the family Mutillidae. The females are wingless and covered in dense, velvety hairs, often in striking colors like red, orange, or black, which is where their common name comes from. Their bright colours serve as a warning to predators, as velvet ants can deliver a very painful sting.