
Paraponera Clavata -Bullet Ant- por Nicolas R.B. aka Snic320 Back from the Amazon!, en Flickr
Sting
The pain caused by this insect's sting is known to be greater than that of any other Hymenopteran, and is ranked as the most painful according to the Schmidt Sting Pain Index, given a "4+" rating, above the tarantula hawk wasp.

Aguijón Close por Nicolas R.B. aka Snic320 Back from the Amazon!, en Flickr
It is described as causing "waves of burning, throbbing, all-consuming pain that continues unabated for up to 24 hours". It is thought that the ant has evolved this way to ward off any predators who would normally unearth them....a paralyzing neurotoxic peptide isolated from the venom is poneratoxin, it affects voltage-dependent sodium ion channels and blocks the synaptic transmission in the insect central nervous system.

Aguijón por Nicolas R.B. aka Snic320 Back from the Amazon!, en Flickr
Initiation rites
The Satere-Mawe people of Brazil use intentional bullet ant stings as part of their initiation rites to become a warrior.The ants are first rendered unconscious by submerging them in a natural sedative and then hundreds of them are woven into a glove made out of leaves (which resembles a large oven mitt), stinger facing inward. When the ants regain consciousness, a boy slips the glove onto his hand. The goal of this initiation rite is to keep the glove on for a full ten minutes. When finished, the boy's hand and part of his arm are temporarily paralyzed because of the ant venom, and he may shake uncontrollably for days. The only "protection" provided is a coating of charcoal on the hands, supposedly to confuse the ants and inhibit their stinging. To fully complete the initiation, however, the boys must go through the ordeal a total of 20 times over the course of several months or even years...

Bullet ant por Nicolas R.B. aka Snic320 Back from the Amazon!, en Flickr

Bullet Ant por Nicolas R.B. aka Snic320 Back from the Amazon!, en Flickr
Hope you like it...took special effort to celebrate so many visits to my Flickr account


2011-12-14-21.08 por Nicolas R.B. aka Snic320 Back from the Amazon!, en Flickr
***Updated with 2 more pics, another fullbody and the eye detail***
Remember all pics are drastically reduced in size for flickr...
Have Fun!