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| Bullet Ant | |
|---|---|
| File:Paraponera.png | |
| Conservation status | |
| Secure | |
| Scientific classification | |
| Kingdom: | Animalia |
| Phylum: | Arthropoda |
| Class: | Insecta |
| Order: | Hymenoptera |
| Family: | Formicidae |
| Subfamily: | Paraponerinae |
| Genus: | Paraponera F.Smith, 1858 |
| Species: | P. clavata |
| Binomial name | |
| Paraponera clavata (Fabricius, 1775) | |
Paraponera is a genus of ant consisting of a single species, the so-called bullet ant (P. clavata), named on account of its powerful and potent sting, which is said to be as painful as being shot with a bullet. It is called by the locals, "Hormiga Veinticuatro," or "24-hour ant", from 24 hours of pain that follow a stinging. The bullet ant inhabits humid lowland rainforests from Nicaragua south to Paraguay. Workers are 18-25 mm long and look like stout, reddish-black, wingless wasps.
General facts
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". In some indigenous communities, to enter manhood a boy has to endure being stung by the ant 5 times without screaming. A paralyzing neurotoxic peptide isolated from the venom is poneratoxin.
Paraponera is predaceous and, like all primitive poneromorphs, does not display polymorphism in the worker caste. Colonies consist of several hundred individuals and are usually situated at the bases of trees, workers foraging arboreally in the area directly above the nest for insect prey and nectaries, often as far as the upper canopy.
Initiation Rites
The Satere-Mawe people of Brazil use intentional bullet ant stings as part of their initiation rites into manhood. The ants are first knocked out by submerging them in a natural chloroform, and then hundreds of them are woven into gloves made out of leaves (which resemble large oven mitts), stinger facing inward. When the ants come to, boys slip the glove down onto their hand. The goal of this initiation rite is to keep the glove on for a full ten minutes. When finished, the boys' hands & part of their arm are temporarily paralyzed because of the venom, and they may shake uncontrollably for days. The only "protection" provided is a coating of charcoal on the hands, supposedly to confuse the ants and inhibit their stinging. To fully complete the initiation, however, the boys must go through the ordeal a total of 20 times over the course of several months or even years. This is however only speculation and is unlikley to be true
See also
References
- ^ "Sting pain index"; New Scientist No2617, pp44; 18 August 2007
- The Natural History of Bullet Ants
- Bitten by the Amazon | Latin America - Times Online
Bibliography
- Bequaert, J.C. (1926). Medical Report of the Hamilton Rice 7th. Expedition to the Amazon. Harvard University Press. pp. pp. 250-253.
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External links
- Short article on the bullet ant and poneratoxin
- Giant tropical bullet ant, Paraponera clavata, natural history and captive management, article with images
- YouTube video of initiation ritual
