Don’t go in the tall grass....

Hendre

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Kind of neat how closely your ants look to the cow ants from here. Cow ants here technically aren't ants but are actually a specie of wingless wasp. The only reason they got the nickname cow ants was due to them accidently killing cattle whenever they stung them. They have a potent neurotoxin that causes extreme pain and can cause cardiac arrest if someone panics over it, normally not deadly to humans unless allergic but can kill due to panic. The only reason panic plays a major role in it's lethality is that the neurotoxin can affect the heart allot faster and that the toxin causes muscles to lock up in pain including the heart muscles. Btw here's a pic of a cow ant, a.k.a red velvet ant, from South Dakota to show some of the similarities.

View attachment 1428417
Heard of them, those are nasty things. The sugar ants I posted about are not inherently dangerous, but are aggressive with a painful bite/acid spray. The Ponerine ants (Army ants, bullet ants etc) are usually the most painful ones due to their stings.
 
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esoxlucius

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Heard of them, those are nasty things. The sugar ants I posted about are not inherently dangerous, but are aggressive with a painful bite/acid spray. The Ponerine ants (Army ants, bullet ants etc) are usually the most painful ones due to their stings.
From what i've seen on nature programmes those bullet ants are something else. People who've been stung off them can't even describe the pain because it's off the scale! And it goes on for hours.

In the uk our ants are quite small, their bite or sting is nothing more than an itch really. I once accidently sat on a nest as a kid, whilst on a picnic with my parents. Lol. My mum thought I was practising for the school disco, I busted some moves that day I can tell you.
 
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Hendre

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From what i've seen on nature programmes those bullet ants are something else. People who've been stung off them can't even describe the pain because it's off the scale! And it goes on for hours.

In the uk our ants are quite small, their bite or sting is nothing more than an itch really. I once accidently sat on a nest as a kid, whilst on a picnic with my parents. Lol. My mum thought I was practising for the school disco, I busted some moves that day I can tell you.
England only has like 80 species, many of which are cryptic/teensy so can understand that. Black ants are a little nuisance that's for sure!
Ponerine ants are one group I don't tangle with, although my brother has grabbed a queen or two by hand without getting stung, his magic touch
 
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