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Animal profile

Bullet Ant

Paraponera clavata

InsectaLowland humid rainforest, nesting at the base of trees and foraging in the canopy

Field profile

The bullet ant is a large solitary-foraging ant with a colony of only a few hundred to a couple of thousand workers. It nests in soil at tree bases and climbs to collect nectar and small prey. Its sting is the reference point at the top of the insect sting pain scale.

Scope note

This is an editorial profile, not a diagnostic field-identification guide or a substitute for current conservation assessments. Follow the cited sources on each fact for the evidence trail.

Published field notes

2026-01-02

Bullet Ant

One peptide accounts for the bullet ant's sting

The pain that tops the Schmidt index is produced largely by poneratoxin, a small peptide that jams sodium channels in nerve cells so they misfire. The sting is agonising and the ant is not aggressive.

Read with evidence →

Bullet Ant | Daily Animal Facts