My understanding is that ‘stinging’ ants bite with their mandibles and quickly double up to inject or spray venom from the tip of the abdomen. I have seen this many times with green tree ants – not all that painful but a lively chap you are likely to meet if you lean against a mango tree. Just watch next time you are being stung instead of saying ‘Crikey, bloody ants’ and brushing them off. Such restraint might be difficult with a bull-ant or a jumper but should be possible with the common Canberra Birdwatcher Ant From: Martin Butterfield [
Sent: Sunday, 14 December 2014 9:03 AM
To: David
Cc: Margaret Leggoe; Mark Clayton; Matthew Willis; CanberraBirds
Subject: Re: [canberrabirds] Birding/Outdoor Tip for the Day Quite correct David. However some ants also have some nifty mandibles,
which are always at the front end and can deal out a very nasty bite. I'd suspect the pain of the bites lasts longer and isn't so easily ameliorated by antihistamine creams etc.
On 14 December 2014 at 07:50, David <m("webone.com.au","davros");" target="_blank">> wrote: All ants are related to bees and wasps at the level of “order” and the sting of all ants is in the tail as far as I can see. David From: Margaret Leggoe [mailto:m("gmail.com","m.leggoe7141");" target="_blank">]
Sent: Saturday, 13 December 2014 2:24 PM
To: Mark Clayton
Cc: Matthew Willis; CanberraBirds
Subject: Re: [canberrabirds] Birding/Outdoor Tip for the Day Bull ants, apparently, are related to wasps and have a sting in the tail. So it depends on which end of the ant attacks you, how severe the bite. The sting in the tail is the one to be feared. Margaret Leggoe
On Saturday, 13 December 2014, Mark Clayton <m("bigpond.com","chollop7");" target="_blank">> wrote:
One thing that I always do, and I advise any overseas birders with me, is to always check where you are standing if you stop when out birding. The last time I managed to get zapped by a bull ant in the bush was near the Victorian border south of Eden in about 1977. However I did get stung through my jeans while pulling weeds in what passes for a garden at home in October this year. The nest was under a rock and I must have created enough of a disturbance for about 4 of the beasties to come charging at me (if you could call bull ants lumbering at you a charge). Unfortunately for me, and ultimately the bull ant, I didn’t see number 5 until it was too late and I was stung on the back of my thigh. The results of the sting lasted about 2 weeks and did get slightly infected from all my scratching. Many of the walking trails in Tidbinbilla nature Reserve are regular places to find bull ants and their smaller, but just as painful cousins, the jumping ants. Any pile of small stones, especially if there is a hole or two in it, could be a potential nest so be wary. The Koala enclosure is a good spot for jumping ants. A timely warning from Matthew. Mark From: Matthew Willis [m("gmail.com","matt.j.willis");">]
Sent: Saturday, 13 December 2014 1:36 PM
To: CanberraBirds
Subject: [canberrabirds] Birding/Outdoor Tip for the Day My birding/outdoor photography tip for the day: If you are at Campbell Park and decide to spend five minutes standing in the one place photographing cicadas - try and make sure you are not standing in the middle of a bull ant colony at the time. The moment at which you realise 3 or 4 of them have crawled under your shirt and a similar number are on their way up your leg is not a nice one. Luckily, either the bites are not as painful as I remember from my childhood, or I was lucky (the big itchy and moderately painful lumps that remain a few hours later are not ideal, though). Still, saw some lovely birds and it was all worth it :-) |
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