Paraponera clavata

24 -hour ant ( Paraponera clavata )

The 24 hour ant ( Paraponera clavata ), also giant tropical ant or Bullet Ant: called (Eng. " Bullet Ant" ) ( McCluskey & Brown 1972 Young & Hermann 1980, etc.), is one of the largest ant species in the world. It is the only extant representative of the subfamily Paraponerinae. Next to her, the only fossil species Paraponera dieteri is known. She lives along the Atlantic coast of South and Central America and moved from sea level to 500 m.

Features

The workers are 18 to 25 millimeters long and have a black, sometimes slightly brownish body. The queens are not much bigger, but have for the egg production a wider Gaster. The front legs are golden, body and legs are hairy. Paraponera clavata is similar in shape to a wingless wasp. Paraponera has an organ in the gaster, which they can stridulate loud in case of danger or excitement.

Your sting administered a strong poison, which paralyzes prey or attacker rejects. In humans, the Sting causes violent pain. The stitch is called the most painful insect bite at all. After shooting pain index ( Schmidt Sting Pain Index ) of the U.S. entomologist Justin O. Schmidt, who describes the severity of pain on a scale from 1.0 to 4.0 , the insect is at 4.0 . The pain is often described as if you were burned alive. You leave behind after about 24 hours - hence the name of the ant. Immediate treatment of the stitch with ice water and subsequent taking Benadryl capsules ( diphenhydramine, an antihistamine ) alleviates the pain. The poison Poneratoxin ( Neurotoxic pentacosapeptide ) leaves no permanent damage in the tissue.

Way of life

Paraponera clavata is not aggressive except when defending their territory. It is considered very docile and can be well along in their environment.

The colonies have only a few thousand individuals, and are compared to other ant species rather small. The nests are created with preference in the base region of larger trees, in exceptional cases Astregionen be colonized.

Their diet consists of 80 to 90 percent from carbohydrates, which receive primarily in the form of parts of plants or nectar. Only a small part of the diet are insects.

Use for rituals

For some indigenous people in South America, the giant ants are part of an initiation ritual that symbolizes the transition from boy to man, such as the Sateré - Mawé who live in the border area of the Brazilian states of Pará and Amazonas. These ants are initially anesthetized with an alcohol-containing liquid and woven into a glove leaves with the bodies inside. If the ants come to him, they are highly aggressive - now the adolescent boy has his hand for 10 minutes let in the glove and endure hundreds of stings. This rite is considered as a test of courage - the boy must endure the pain without showing it.

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