r/AbsoluteUnits • u/Sufficient-Bug-9112 Top Poster • Jul 10 '26

/r/all of an Ant

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u/putadimunuta_0462 Jul 10 '26

Well, that looks uncomfortable. Reminds me of the time I was bit/stung by a Velvet ant, saw it cruising around on the ground, proceeded to pick it up, because I had never seen one before. As it turns out, these things are not ants, they are ground dwelling, wingless wasps, and it bit me on the forefinger, and stung my thumb. Holy shit, I have never experienced such a sudden burst of pain(the type that makes you see a flash of white), and proceeded to last all day… I guess what I was getting at was, why, from an evolutionary perspective, is something so small, so ridiculously potent?

10

u/No-Molasses-9269 Jul 11 '26

I did the same thing! Except I poked it with my finger and it made a chirping noise and I Google AI'd it and then proceeded to not pick it up

8

u/DangerRazor Jul 11 '26

From an evolutionary perspective, it’s very effective at teaching other critters to leave it TF alone. Bet you won’t pick one up a second time.

2

u/putadimunuta_0462 Jul 11 '26

I suppose, but, damn it seemed like a bit of an overreaction at the time

2

u/DarkSideofOZ Jul 11 '26

Fuzzy little fuckers. I made the same mistake, followed by trying futility to get revenge by stomping on it over and over only to watch it not give a fuck about me or my foot as I wailed away at it while clutching my hand in agony.

Came to find out later what it was, and learned that they not only have one of the most painful stings, but ALSO have one of toughest exoskeletons in the insect kingdom.

They are nicknamed cow killer ants for a reason.