The Australian Bull-Ant | 10 Animals that Can Kill You
The Australian bull-ant, also known as the Myrmecia pilosula, is the most dangerous ant in the world. This aggressive and determined ant can deliver a powerful and painful sting with its large mandibles and venomous stinger. In a video featuring Dr. Michelle Oakley, she recounts her terrifying experience of being stung by a bull-ant while wrestling a kangaroo. The ant crawled into her pants and delivered a painful sting, causing intense burning and discomfort.
Bull-ants are known for their repeated stinging and can inject a significant amount of poison, making them more dangerous than bees. Their venomous attacks have resulted in fatalities and can also cause anaphylaxis in some cases. Despite their small size, bull-ants are capable of inflicting great harm, and encounters with them often result in a trip to the hospital in Australia. Dr. Oakley emphasizes the importance of being cautious around these ants and the potential deadly consequences of their stings. The video serves as a cautionary tale about the dangers posed by this tiny but formidable insect.
Watch the video by Nat Geo WILD
NARRATOR: The Australian bull-ant is the official record-holder for the most dangerous ant in the world. MICHELLE OAKLEY (VOICEOVER): I was wrestling a kangaroo, and it turned out I was laying in a bull-ant nest. It’s OK, baby. MICHELLE OAKLEY (VOICEOVER): When I got in the car, there was still one hanging on.
First, it kind of got me on my back, and then I could feel it moving. I was honestly more terrified that it was a spider. MICHELLE OAKLEY (VOICEOVER): But as it slid down my back, I realized it was biting me in a very tender spot. [gasps] Ah, ah! Something’s biting me.
– Oh, you’ve got a bull-ant. – [bleep] – Can I see– – [bleep] [inaudible] you? I don’t know. MICHELLE OAKLEY (VOICEOVER): On my butt, something is stinging me. Ow, that hurts. MICHELLE OAKLEY (VOICEOVER): And it just feels like pain. She might have a bull-ant in her pants. MICHELLE OAKLEY: Ugh. Ow.
NARRATOR: The bull-ant can bite you with its large mandibles, but the pain really comes when it injects venom through a stinger on its rear end. It was incredibly painful, like the kind of pain where you’re just sweating and just waiting for it to stop. It was awful.
It took hours for that pain and that burning to go away. NARRATOR: Bull-ants earned their name because of their aggression and determination during an attack. However– MICHELLE OAKLEY: The bull-ant is not after us. It’s not trying to bite us on the butt or get in our pants.
What it’s trying to do is attack other insects, and so that repeated stinging, what it does is release enzymes into these insects, which will destroy their blood cells and kill the animal. NARRATOR: Because it’s a relatively big ant, the bull-ant injects a lot of poison.
And unlike bees, it can deliver multiple stings to a human and not die in the process. Bull-ants can vary in size, but they still pack the same punch. I mean, some are as small as a fingernail and some are as big as an inch.
No matter what their size, they’re going to hang on and they’re going to sting you repeatedly. NARRATOR: A handful of people have died from the bull-ant. MICHELLE OAKLEY: One bull-ant sting is awful. It’s going to be painful. If you’re bit by multiple bull-ants, it definitely could set off anaphylaxis
And it could be deadly. NARRATOR: In Australia, the bull-ant is the most common species of ant to require a trip to the hospital. When human beings are gone from this planet, ants are going to rule the world.
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Video “The Australian Bull-Ant | 10 Animals that Can Kill You” was uploaded on 03/05/2021 to Youtube Channel Nat Geo WILD