However, new research has revealed an insect species with markings so black, they're classed as ... is Traumatomutilla bifurca, a type of velvet ant – which is, somewhat confusingly, actually ...

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 ...

And, according to a study led by Lopez and published earlier this month in the Beilstein Journal of Nanotechnology, velvet ants have another claim to fame: The black parts of females possess a ...

Ants range in size from the miniscule up to one inch long, and usually appear black, brown, red, or yellow ... including the velvet ant, which is actually a hairy, wingless wasp.

This makes the velvet ant’s color what scientists call “ultrablack” or “superblack”. Traditional black colorations reflect around five to ten percent of the light that hits it ...