nd marched over and around it.
While the army ants are primarily found in the New World tropics the driver ants are found in the tropics of Africa. Both types are very similar as far as their behavior and biology is concerned. One distinct difference is that while large colonies of army ants may number one million colonies of driver ants can reach 200 million. With such huge numbers they present more of a threat to humans and other animals. There have been human deaths recorded from the raids of these critters (mostly infants). In these cases death has typically occurred from suffocation as a result of the ants entering and filling the lungs.
The mating behavior of these ants is especially strange. The males are to drawn to the foraging columns supposedly looking for a mate. Instead of finding a queen the sterile workers quickly swarm the males and immediately tear their wings off. Then they carry them off and basically imprison them until a potential new queen is available.
Bullet Ants. This ant is primarily found in rainforests ranging from Nicaragua to Paraguay and Australia. This huge (1 inch) beast is called the bullet ant because its sting feels like being shot by a bullet. On the Schmidt Sting Index bullet ants rate as the number one most painful sting found in the arthropods. When defending their nest they swarm out, release a strong odor and stridulate an audible sound (said to sound like a shriek) and then grab and impale their intruder. In Central-South America they are referred to as the 24-hour ant, referring to the pain described as “of burning, throbbing, all consuming pain” that may last a day or more.
A one-inch Costa Rican bullet ant.
As with many other arthropods bullet ants play a ceremonial role in some tribes of the rainforests. The Satere-Mawe people of Brazil use this ant in the right of passage of boys into manhood. In this case live bullet ants are woven into a sleeve made of leaves with the stingers pointing inward. Once the sleeve is place on the arm the goal is to leave it on for 10 m