| Bullet Ant | ||||||||||||||||
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| 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 the 24 hours of pain that follow a stinging.[1] 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.[2]
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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.[1] 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 to become a warrior.[3] The ants are first rendered unconscious by submerging them in a natural chloroform, and then hundreds of them are woven into a glove made out of leaves (which resembles a large oven mitt), stinger facing inward. When the ants regain consciousness, a boy slips the glove onto his hand. The goal of this initiation rite is to keep the glove on for a full ten minutes. When finished, the boy's hand and part of his arm are temporarily paralyzed because of the ant venom, and he 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.[4]
See also
References
- ^ a b "Sting pain index"; New Scientist No2617, pp44; 18 August 2007
- ^ The Natural History of Bullet Ants
- ^ Bitten by the Amazon | Latin America - Times Online
- ^ YouTube - Incredible Ritual With Hundreds of Poisonous Bullet Ants
Bibliography
- Bequaert, J.C. (1926). Medical Report of the Hamilton Rice 7th. Expedition to the Amazon. Harvard University Press. pp. 250–253.
- Weber, N. A. (1939). The sting of the ant, Paraponera clavata. Science, 89, 127-128.
- Lattke, JE (2003) - Subfamilia Ponerinae in Introducción a las Hormigas de la Région Neotropical - Von Humboldt Institute, Bogota, Colombia.
External links
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Wikimedia Commons has media related to: Paraponera clavata |
- Brief article about Paraponera clavata
- 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
Images
From Discovery series 'The Venom Hunter', Steve Backshall endures the stings of hundreds of bullet ants in a rite of passage ritual and looks like he's going to die!
Author: geckochasin
Keywords: Venom Hunter
Added: December 27, 2008
Top 10 Rock Covers (1980s)
Top 10 Best '80s Rock Covers according to me.
Author: HellKron
Keywords: top 10 best rock Covers remade remake top10 cover 80 80's 80s 1980 1980s eighties classic Bullet For My Valentine Relient Death by Stereo Ra Alien Ant Farm Midtown Disturbed Clawfinger Electric Six Orgy
Added: December 24, 2008
Naruto GOA: Potin Eupeve Plays In Chuunin
Potin mucking around in chuunin Sorry for Hypercam logo(Came back, cant fix it)ant the shit program ;( Songs: Hiltop Hoods-What A Great Night Bullet For My Valentine-All These Things I Hate
Author: bradthenarutoguy
Keywords: naruto goa duddy potin chuunins
Added: December 24, 2008
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This Tutorial Will Show You How To Create A Very Annoying Textbox That Can Only Be Removed By Logging Off Or Turning Of The Computer. Please Rate And Comment The Script : Do a=msgbox("Ha Ha Ha",4096,"Warning") loop
Author: SatanicFilth666
Keywords: Tutorial how to create an very annoy annoying text box textbox computer laptop .vbs vbs script notepad hacks and tricks
Added: December 22, 2008
Through the Eastern Tropical Lowland Rainforest
at some creek. OTS La Selva Biological Station, San Pedro, Costa Rica. buttress roots, poison dart frogs, jaguars, large plants, wild bananas, bullet ants, all that good stuff.
Author: dagda16
Keywords: rainforest costa rica
Added: December 15, 2008