【23mm】Paraponera clavata (Bullet Ant) Specimen - Ikimono Daizukan Ant - Black Carpenter Ant

Scientific Name: Paraponera clavata?

English Name: bullet ant or lesser giant hunting ant

The bullet ant (Paraponera clavata) is a species of ant. It inhabits the humid lowland rainforests from Nicaragua to Paraguay. It is known for the intense pain caused by its sting, which lasts for 24 hours, earning it the name 24-hour ant (Spanish: hormiga veinticuatro) and bullet ant due to the shock-like pain resembling a gunshot wound.

The indigenous Satere-Mawe people of Brazil use this ant in their warrior initiation rites. First, the ants are anesthetized with plant extracts and sewn into palm leaves. These are then shaped into gloves with the stingers facing inward. After the ants' anesthesia wears off, the initiate inserts their hands into the gloves and endures the pain for about 10 minutes. During this time, applying charcoal to the hands is permitted as protection from the stingers. Numbness in the hands reportedly persists for several days after the ritual. Completing this ritual 20 times over several months to years signifies the completion of the initiation rite.

We apologize, but we cannot guarantee against grade reduction due to transportation.
We will ship the pictured individual from Archicaya, Colombia. I measured it to be 23mm. It was collected in February 1989.