These animals evolved to be ‘ultrablack’—here’s why
An ant that disappears into the forest floor, a bird that demands attention from mates—for these animals, an inky black ...
This Velvet Ant Provides New Insights Into Nature’s Ultrablack Secrets
New research has found an insect species with markings that are so black that they’re ‘superblack’ or ‘ultrablack’, absorbing ...
The ‘Blue Velvet’ motif: David Lynch’s perfect metaphor for the seedy underbelly of small towns
David Lynch was a master in many ways. One of his most overlooked achievements is the effective motif for the seedy ...
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Velvet Ants' Rare Ultrablack Markings Are So Dark They Absorb Nearly All Visible Light
The species in question is Traumatomutilla bifurca, a type of velvet ant – which is, somewhat confusingly, actually a species of wasp. Some of these wasps don't have any wings, but they do have ...
New Scientist22d
Secrets of velvet ant's venom explain what makes its sting so painful
The sting of a female velvet ant is one of the most painful in the animal kingdom. Now, researchers have discovered that these insects have multiple proteins in their venom that make it ...
Science News21d
Velvet ants have the Swiss Army knife of venoms
Few creatures can tangle with a velvet ant and walk away unscathed. These ground-dwelling insects are not ants, but parasitic wasps known for their excruciating stings. Now researchers have ...