Bullet Ant: Creature With Most Painful Sting

By: EjazUlHaqBhat

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The bullet ant is a large, black or reddish-brown ant with a prominent stinger that can deliver an extremely painful sting

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The bullet ant is known for having the most painful sting of any insect

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The sting is said to feel like a gunshot and is rated a four on the Schmidt Sting Pain Index

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Entomologist Justin Schmidt, who created the index, described the pain as "pure, intense, brilliant pain"

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The pain can last up to 12 hours, which is why the bullet ant is also known as the "24-hour ant" in Venezuela

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The venom of the bullet ant contains a neurotoxin that binds to sodium channels in nerve cells, causing them to open more easily and stay open

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The bullet ant lives in the humid lowland rainforests of Central and South America

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The sting is not fatal and is not known to cause permanent damage

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