The Bullet Ant

[experimentalSounds]

The Last of Us.

[zeeox]

@experimentalSounds - er... what do you mean by that exactly? Or is this a random spam posting?

[experimentalSounds]

@zeeox The Last of Us is an upcoming video-game. This game will explore the bond between characters Joel and Ellie, who have a “father-daughter” style relationship as they try to survive in a bleak apocalyptic world ravaged by humans infected by the Cordyceps fungus. Before the game was announce, Sony advertised bullet ants being targetd by the Cordyceps fungus, a little viral-advertising.

[zeeox]

@experimentalSounds - fair enough I guess. It just sounded a bit cryptic. I know the Cordyceps fungus, I can recall there being some pretty cracking footage of them in Attenborough's 'Planet Earth' series. I'm not sure I like the idea of a future when they can do the same to humans! Thanks for watching!

[crookandflail1]

theres is one i thought of called the magnum force bullet ant sting that will permantly disable your index fingers.

[zeeox]

@crookandflail1 - presumably its latin name is harrius dirtius? :-)

[crookandflail1]

and its all natural.

[crookandflail1]

I lot of people want to tap me in the head, air me out, empty a clip in my back, blow my head away with a desert eagle. blow my head up with a 50 bmg. so I created something for killers and murderers. for those who come to take my life or arrest me. you will receive a warning shot to the back of the leg the calf, if you continue you will receive one in the middle of your back, if you continue your mission then i will spray you with the ant stings in your forehead, temple, back of the head .

[chin0330]

@mexicanking3456 because other say that the ant sting is similar to getting gunned

[mexicanking3456]

why is it called the bullet ant

[zeeox]

@mexicanking3456 - Hi MexicanKing! It is called the Bullet Ant because its sting is (allegedly) as painful as being shot by a bullet from a gun!! It is also called the 24 hour Ant because the pain from its sting can last a whole day! Ouch!

[Ryanmartin2002]

@zeeox

I've had regular fire ants hurt for 24 hours... but timespan aside, I still doubt the pain level is as high.

[300MUSIC]

mm food :D

[zeeox]

@300MUSIC - food for the ant or food for the human? :-)

[Ducaz012]

let him sting ya!

[2strong2cool]

Boring

If you wanted to make a YT video of the bullet ant, you should have let it bite you

[zeeox]

The bite wouldn't make for a good video mate... it's its sting that hurts. Feel free to post your own film of it stinging you though and I'll let you know if I feel that I've missed out on a good thing.

[2strong2cool]

no point mate, their stings dont hurt me. i done the glove ritual for 6 hours straight, never felt a thing

[zeeox]

So why ask for some film of it stinging if it you know it can't even hurt you? Oh no, let me guess, everyone else gets hurt but not you? I bow to your strength.

[2strong2cool]

it is what it is mate, it is what it is

im a trained boxer. pain is nothing new to me. i deal with it and dish it out every single day

[blaneman2200]

whatever dude!!!! they say that it hurts like a bullet...so your basically saying that you cant feel a bullet

[warXnXpeace]

Arent Bullet Ants supposed to make a high pitched shrieking noise? and if they are where can I find a video of that????

[zeeox]

Well I didn't know that until now, so thanks! It appears they do stridulate when they come out in numbers to defend their nest. I haven't seen (or, rather, heard) a video that shows it, no. Perhaps 2strong2cool above would like to film them in attack mode for us!

[skirts365]

@warXnXpeace I don't know. However, the "cow killer" or "mule killer" ant, found in Texas, Tennessee, Arkansas, Louisiana, Mississippi & elsewhere, does make a noise. And probably has a more severe sting than the bullet ant. Yes, MORE severe. See bullet ant ritual there's no way anyone can survive more than 30 to 50 cow killer stings MD's say 30 red wasps can kill adult, cow killers are more drastic.

[zeeox]

@skirts365 - hi there, have just seen your comment - thanks for it! Interesting lowdown on the velvet ant... I still find it interesting that people hype up the bullet ant above other stinging insects. After all, it's much easier to come across a cow killer and there must be many reliable records on what they can do. I guess it might come down to the fact that you're more likely to come across more than one bullet ant - i.e. at their nest - whereas cow killers tend to be lone individuals.

[wretchedyo]

@skirts365 You just kind of forgot that pain and toxin isnt the same thing. 

[skirts365]

@wretchedyo With stings, there is no pain without toxin. You just kind of forgot that huh? Let the Brazilian tribe come to East Texas and see if they can take a few hundred mule killer stings and see if they can recover. Let em take it in stages, 10 at a time, versus their species, a hundred or more at once. They'll be screaming to wake the dead.

[PhDAnnoyance]

@skirts365 It is possible for something to be more painful without being more lethal. Cow killers don't hurt as much as bullet ants (not to say they don't hurt - it's just that you're comparing something that hurts like a bullet wound), even if they may be more lethal. For example, the tarantula hawk also has an excruciating sting, but it isn't very toxic.

[skirts365]

@PhDAnnoyance Unless you sampled both stings you can't say, the word of 1 person is INADEQUATE. And why doesn't this ONE person compare the Aussie bulldog ant to the bullet ant? No budget for going to Australia. Let the Brazilian tribe go to Tennessee and try the glove ritual with 100's of cow killers as the do their native species. If this could be set up as a bet I'd jump at it. After first victim, the rest would RUN back to the jungle. Where also is the puss caterpillar in his ratings?

[p0p3rm0p3r]

what spider is that on ur arm in ur youtube picture it looks intresting

[zeeox]

It is a European Black Widow (Latrodectus tredecimguttatus), also called the Karakurt, or 'Camel Killer'. I had to put it on my finger so that my camera could auto-focus properly whilst I held it in the other hand. In hindsight, it was a bit stupid I suppose but thery're not quite as dangerous as the American Black Widow fortunately! ;-)

[gaxxag]

They say that being stung by one feels like being shot, but I wonder how many people have actually been stung by one of these ants, AND been shot in the same kind of tissue to actually know what it feels like >_>

[zeeox]

I get your point gaxxag - but I guess it only took one battle hardened soldier to get stung in the jungle and start the rumour! There must be some truth in it as they're are so many records of people deliberately getting stung by them to compare - some of those must have been unfortunate enough to have been shot at some point too.. And I'm pretty sure getting shot is going to hurt much the same regardless where the bullet goes! Well... just about! ;-)

[drainspout]

@gaxxag Ive been trying to research the same question myself. Perhaps one of the mythbesters would do it. lol

[conman2317]

I was stung by one, and its more like a burning needle, rather then being shot by a bullet, in my opinion its heavily exaggerated. Not as painful as one would think. Toe Biters hurt more.

[zeeox]

That's really interesting conman2317! I've always found it a bit odd that the Schmidt Sting Pain Index excludes other nasty nipping non-Hymenoptera. But still, rather you than me! Perhaps you should start your own definitive list? Cheers!

[haydenhaydenhayden]

Bullet Ants down my pants please...

[zeeox]

Rather you than me.

[eddyb100]

some people get stung on purpose just to show they are hard.

[Actionjackson4444]

they get a hard on from getting bit by one of those?

bestiality is what that is

[metafact]

I guess he meant "tough". Boy, that did that not come out right! :)

[CGJUGO80]

he did mean tough but this action jackson dude is a nerd lol

[11SPOONZ]

wouldnt want to come across one of those

[zeeox]

I guess so 11SPOONZ... although if I saw it in advance I'd know not to rest my hand on any nearby branches!