Named on account of its powerful and potent sting, which is said to be as painful as being shot with a bullet. The pain caused by this insect's sting is purported to be greater than that of any other Hymenopteran, and is ranked as the most painful according to the Schmidt Sting Pain Index. It is described as causing "waves of burning, throbbing, all-consuming pain that continues unabated for up to 24 hours". It lives in trees and thus can and will fall on you to scare you away from its hive--the one you didn't know was there, because it's in a tree. Before it does this, it shrieks at you. This ant, you see, can shriek.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Paraponera
http://www.sasionline.org/antsfiles/pages/bullet/bulletbio.html
http://scienceblogs.com/zooillogix/2008/01/the_schmidt_sting_pain_index.php
1 comment:
Lately, I have been fishing in many of the small lakes around Lower Michigan. Have not come across many ants, but the mosquitos galore. Some seemed big enough to not only carry off a human but the fish they caught too. I think there are some small species in Michigan that are quite lethel for the amatuer outdoors person.
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