Skip to main content

Most dangerous ant

Most dangerous ant


Who
Bulldog ant (Myrmecia pyriformis)
Where
Australia Australia
The most dangerous ant in the world is the bulldog ant (Myrmecia pyriformis) found in coastal regions in Australia. In attack it uses its sting and jaws simultaneously. There have been at least three human fatalities since 1936, the latest a Victorian farmer in 1988.
The bull dog ant earned its name because of its ferocity and determination during an attack. It is extremely aggressive and shows little fear of human beings, stinging a number of times in quick succession and therefore injecting more venom with each bite. In an attack, the ant will hold on to its victim with long, toothed mandibles, curl its body underheath and thrust its long barbless sting into the skin. On a few occasions this sting has been enough to kill adults within 15 minutes.
Body length = 20 mm (0.07 in) weight = 0.015 g (0.0005 oz) Lifespan = 21 days Discovered = 1793
Pic: Alamy

Comments

Popular posts from this blog

Elaborate Neanderthal Structure Found

Human May 28, 2016 05:45 PM ET Elaborate Neanderthal Structure Found Neanderthals built some of the world's earliest constructions, which were just found deep in a French cave. Circular heated structures built by Neanderthals have been discovered deep inside a cave in France and are now among the world's oldest known human-made constructions, a new study has found. The structures, dated to around 176,000 years ago and described in the journal Nature, provide evidence that Neanderthals were clever about using fire, had complex spatial organizational abilities, and explored at least one extensive cave system. They additionally indicate that humans began occupying caves much earlier than previously thought; until now the oldest formally proven cave use dated back only 38,000 years (Chauvet). The site where the constructions were found -- Bruniquel Cave in southwestern France -- was only just...

DNA Captured From 2,500-Year-Old Phoenician

History May 28, 2016 03:28 PM ET DNA Captured From 2,500-Year-Old Phoenician Analysis of the ancient man's DNA reveal he had European ancestry. Researchers have sequenced the complete mitochondrial genome of a 2,500-year-old Phoenician, showing the ancient man had European ancestry. This is the first ancient DNA to be obtained from Phoenician remains. Known as “Ariche,” the young man came from Byrsa, a walled citadel above the harbor of ancient Carthage. Byrsa was attacked by the Roman general Scipio Aemilianus “Africanus” in the Third Punic War. It was destroyed by Rome in 146 B.C. 2,700-Year-Old Phoenician Shipwreck Discovered Ariche’s remains were discovered in 1994 on the southern flank of Bursa hill when a man planting trees fell into the ancient grave. Analysis of the skeleton revealed the man died between the age of 19 and 24, had a rather robust physique and was 1.7 meters (5’...