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Saw this bug/insect/spider? on a ranch in Santa Ynez, CA. Pretty fast moving-this was the only photo I could get. The creature is the thing in the photo that looks like two puff balls on a very black body. (The smaller puff is the front of the body.) Maybe a bumble bee? Did not appear to have wings... !Saw this bug/insect/spider? on a ranch in Santa Ynez, CA. Pretty fast moving-this was the only photo I could get. The creature is the thing in the photo that looks like two puff balls on a very black body. (The smaller puff is the front of the body.) Maybe a bumble bee? Did not appear to have wings.

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    $\begingroup$ Welcome to Biology.SE. Can you please indicate the approximate size and speed (as well as mode) of displacement. It might be hard to say anything with this picture. $\endgroup$
    – Remi.b
    May 16, 2016 at 20:05
  • $\begingroup$ You might want to edit the post to improve the grammar, start sentences with a capitalize letter and don't end sentences with things like ...!] $\endgroup$
    – Remi.b
    May 16, 2016 at 20:07

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Perhaps it was a species of velvet ant (a type of wasp from the genus Dasymutilla). The females lack wings, and it appears like what you describe and vaguely see in your image.

Here are some photos:

enter image description here

enter image description here

Photo 1 Source

Photo 2/Information Source

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