 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 minutes without crying due to the stings. When finished the boys arms are temporarily paralyzed and they may shake uncontrollably for days. To fully complete the initiation, however, the boys must go through this ordeal a total of 20 times over a several month period or years.
Harvester Ants. These (Pogonomyrmex spp.) are commonly thought as the large red or black ants that form rather large nests in open fields, schoolyards, along railroad tracks, alleys or other similar situations. Of the 23 species that occur in the United States 22 occur west of the Mississippi River. Beside their large size and color these ants can be distinguished by fringes of long curved hairs on the back, underside margin of the head. These hairs are used to clean the ant’s antennae and legs, carry water and remove sand during excavation of their nests. The nests are typically quite large consisting of one or more holes surrounded by a low flat crater (up to 8 inches across). This crater in turn is surrounded by a rather large vegetat