Bullet ant stings hurt so bad and are so painful because when the bullet ant stings you the sting releases a neurotoxic peptide called poneratoxin which causes severe muscle contractions and a burning sensation and great pain.
A bullet ant is as big as 18 mm to 30 mm long and they also have the appearance of wingless wasps.
Bullet ants can grow up to an incredible 1.2 inches long, which makes them one of the largest true ant species in the world.
Unlike other ant species, the queen of a bullet ant colony is usually around the same size as the workers.
Bullet ants are reddish-black ants with large mandibles (pincers) and a visible stinger.
The queen bullet ant is slightly larger than the workers.
Bullet ants live in the tropical rain forest of Central and South America, in Honduras, Nicaragua, Costa Rica, Venezuela, Colombia, Ecuador, Peru, Bolivia, and Brazil.
Paraponera clavata, commonly known as the bullet ant, is a species of ant named for its extremely painful sting.
It inhabits humid lowland rainforests in Central and South America.
Bullet ants live in the tropical rainforest of Central and South America, in Honduras, Nicaragua, Costa Rica, Venezuela, Colombia, Ecuador, Peru, Bolivia, and Brazil.
The Bullet ants build their colonies at the base of trees so they can forage in the canopy.
Each colony of bullet ants contain several hundred ants.
The increase in signaling is what causes the intense pain from bullet ant stings.
Poneratoxin is in an inactive state when stored in the ant venom reservoir due to the reservoir's acidic conditions, but it becomes toxic when activated via a multi step process.
A bullet ant bite usually appears like any other ant bite and your skin will usually turn a bright red or at least a red color and also somewhat white.
The most painful sting in the world is the bullet ant.
Paraponera clavata is a species of ant, commonly known as the bullet ant, named for its extremely painful sting. It inhabits humid lowland rain forests in Central and South America.