In the female velvet ant, these microstructures include overlapping stacks of lamellae, or layers of tissue, beneath dense, hair-like setae. Combined with a black pigment, these features in the ...

Despite their name and looks, velvet ants are actually wasps. Many of these delightfully fuzzy insects exhibit bright, contrasting shades of black with red, orange or white. Their bold bodies serve as ...

Velvet ants have enormous stingers ― half their body length ― and the research paper focused on the full defense system of ...

Ultrablack is a term used to refer to a surface that reflects less than 0.5% of the light that strikes it, meaning that it absorbs more than 99.5% of the light. Some animals inhabiting the natural ...