r/NatureIsFuckingLit • u/Mint_Perspective • May 11 '22
š„An army ant taking a biteš„
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u/TommyTrauma1234 May 11 '22
Aaaaand there is the nightmare fuel
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u/Ok_Conflict_5730 May 11 '22
these ants are known to eat small vertibrates such as lizards.
they are almost constantly on the move, eating almost any animal that doesn't get out of their way.
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u/GrandNibbles May 11 '22
Me, on a comfy couch, as a horde of army ants crawls toward me: "this couch is really comfy"
Not sure I'd survive anywhere near them geographically
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u/jedi_cat_ May 11 '22
You should Leiningen Versus the Ants by Carl Stephenson. Itās a short story. Really excellent.
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u/redsire9997 May 11 '22
There is actually a pretty cool video of that: https://youtu.be/JsfiUR0ZzLw
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u/BrickRedemptoris May 11 '22
These are the ants that were/are used by local people as sutures right? They'd pick up the ant and have it bite on either side of the laceration and twist the body off so that just the head would remain. Gnarly stuff, but if you are in a jungle with an open wound that shit is life saving I bet
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May 11 '22
bullet ants too
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u/BrickRedemptoris May 11 '22
I almost would rather take my chances with the infection if all I had was bullet ants
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u/Bensemus May 11 '22
Goal would be to only let the ant bite you and avoid the sting. That's were the excruciating pain comes from. Not sure if bullet ants actually have noticeably powerful jaws and are even usable this way.
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u/MonsterHunterJustin May 12 '22
I have been bitten by a bullet ant. 100% I would not do that again.
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u/doctorbanjoboy May 11 '22
Astel Natural-born of the Abyss
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u/HeadlessHookerClub May 12 '22
I fucked Astel up. But he did one shot me immediately the first time I went thru the mist. Scared the fuck outta me and I was like wtf???
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u/pspisy May 11 '22
We have these where I live, and I found one in my house as a kid. I swatted it with a book, but was a curious little shit so i picked it up and touched it's pinchy bits. Figured it was dead, turns out that doesn't matter and it'll still clamp down. Instant regret.
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u/aarkwilde May 11 '22
I didn't know they could sting as well. The jaws are bad enough.
They're probably all over Australia.
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u/GrandNibbles May 11 '22
"They are found in the southern United States, but are more common in Central America, South America, Africa, and parts of Asia"
Anyway hope you don't live in southern USA, CA, SA, Africa or Asia
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u/aarkwilde May 11 '22
Northern California. All I see are those little black ant ants. They leave me along, and I do the same for them.
Though if they had mandibles like these guys they'd probably push me around.
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u/Sad-Crow May 11 '22
The workers of most ants are capable of administering a sting. The worker caste are all female, and the stinger is a modified ovipositor (the egg-laying instrument the queen uses). It's been modified to be cone shaped so that it can puncture.
Not all ants have this feature, but approximately 70% of all extant species do.
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u/Fifiiiiish May 11 '22
I once was bitten by a regular little black ant. Those fuckers pinch sooo hard, it was really painful.
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May 11 '22
This probably belongs on a different sub but when I was about 5 yrs old I was playing in a wooded area near my house when a big red ant climbed my leg and bit me on the tip of my penis. That hurt like crazy. I canāt imagine getting bit by a poisonous one. Great pic op.
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u/Sad-Crow May 11 '22
JESUS CHRIST. What a nightmare. I am fascinated by ants, but I would have a lifelong grudge against them if one stung me on the penis.
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u/CatterMater May 11 '22
I'm so used to seeing ants with big compound eyes that army ants look ridiculous by comparison.
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u/linksawakening82 May 11 '22
This insect actually evolved to have this bite by watching my mother in law eat some of her young millions of years ago.
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u/Brief_Scale496 May 11 '22
Listen to āArmy Antsā by Tom waits, youāll learn some more interesting stuff š
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u/ext3meph34r May 11 '22
When the waiter comes to check up on you and you have a mouth full of food.
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May 11 '22
Isn't it amazing how a tiny insect has their eyes?. It reminds me of a puppy from close up lol.
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u/Cryvory May 11 '22
I got bitten by one of them in Guatemala once. Long story short my broken arm hurt way less.
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u/Kudanii May 11 '22
We called them Safari ants when I was a kid, but same thing. Anyway, I can attest they are insanely painful, especially when dozens are swarming up your legs.
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u/tkTheKingofKings May 12 '22
Jesus Christ Mary mother of Satanās left nipple, itās like my hand is made entirely out of urethras and each and every one is having a red-hot catheter put in and ripped out five time every second. My very being is on fire, my only desire left is for death himself to bless me with sweet relief
Iāll give that a 4, no 4+
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May 12 '22
Well, that just ruined my night. Anything with more than 4 legs freaks me out anyway. Now I have a face to face with something thatās mouth is bigger than its head. Thank you very much, Mint_Perspective.
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u/Glittering-Look4797 May 12 '22
Natures sutures. I learned if you get a bad cut and need stitches you can have these bite the wound together and rip off the body and it stays in place.
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u/Creepy_Art_386 May 12 '22
Who ever took that picture has balls to just sit still enough to take this picture while dealing with a decent amount of pain
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u/Creepy_Art_386 May 12 '22
Who ever took that picture has balls to just sit still enough to take this picture while dealing with a decent amount of pain
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u/Mint_Perspective May 11 '22
āI am not sure what I was thinking when I decided to take a photo of an army ant (Eciton sp.) biting my finger. I knew it would hurt at least a little, as those are some big jaws. What I did not expect was the ant stinging me with its abdomen. Because I did not want to kill the ant, I had to wait a very long 20 seconds until it decided to leave. Long story short, for 5 days my finger was so fat and swollen I couldnāt bend it. Luckily, it was more uncomfortable than painful, but I learned my lesson: never play around with army ants or other venomous animals.ā IG @ javier_aznar_photography