- I have About a 50/50 chance of taking a sting
with a flying bullet ant.
On three.
One,
two,
three.
There's something in my-
(exciting music)
A part of this video is sponsored by Dr. Squatch.
All right.
Last night, something completely unexpected happened.
Right now we're in Costa Rica filming
the bullet ant sting vs the leaf cutter ant bite showdown,
which by the way, ouch.
It hasn't even been 24 hours since I endured the carnage
that was 60 seconds of being stung by a bullet ant.
I mean, I got annihilated.
(sound distorts) Ahh!
I am still in excruciating pain right now,
but here at our lodge we saw something
that we didn't even think existed.
Let me ask you a question.
What is worse than a bullet ant
with one of the most painful stings in the world?
The answer, A bullet ant that can fly.
That's right.
Bullet ants have wings.
- [Coyote] Mark, come here.
- [Mark] What is it?
- Dude, there's a bug on the wall here.
It looks like a bullet ant, but it has wings on it.
- [Mark] You want a light?
- [Coyote] Can you shine your light like right on it?
- [Mark] What?
- [Coyote] Dude, that is a bullet ant with wings.
- [Mark] It has wings!
- [Coyote] No way!
- [Mark] Let me get a net.
Let's see if I can-
Got it.
There is, yeah. It's in the net.
Oh, it's getting away.
It's getting away.
- [Coyote] Look out look out look out!
- [Mark] Whoa, whoa, whoa.
Alright hang on.
Holy cow.
No way.
- [Coyote] Did you know they could fly?
- I didn't know they could have wings at all!
Let's get a closer look at it.
Ah.
In all of our adventures into the rainforest,
we have never seen anything like this.
The Brave Wilderness Channel
has a long and painful history with the bullet ant,
because these ants possess
one of the most painful stings on the entire planet.
And that's not just of all ants.
Of all insects.
From a single jab,
To a full minute of being pumped with their legendary venom,
we've experienced firsthand
just how excruciating their sting can be.
However, these insects won't sting unless provoked,
and we've learned that from sticking our hand
into a box full of them.
As it turns out, they only sting to protect themselves
and their underground colony from danger.
But until this particular adventure,
we had no idea that bullet ants could take to the sky.
But now let's get to the question
that I know you're all wondering.
Sure, bullet ants have wings, but can they sting?
Can a winged bullet ant sting with the power and might
of the bullet ant that we all know so well?
Well, that's what we're here today to find out.
I'm prepared to take yet another sting test
to see if the winged bullet ant
is something that we all need to be concerned of.
But before we do that,
that let's take a side by side comparison
of both of these ants.
Colorations, proportions.
They look nearly identical.
I mean, maybe, and just maybe,
the winged bullet ant is a little bit bigger.
But outside of that, the only major difference
that I can see is just behind the head.
On the wingless bull ant,
you've got a couple of spikes,
a couple of nodules right behind the head
on that middle part.
On the winged bull ant,
you have more of a hunch or a hump.
I'm guessing that's where all the wing mechanics
are contained that enable this ant to fly.
But before we get to the sting,
let's discuss why ants have wings in the first place.
In order for ants to start a new colony, like bees,
they have to swarm.
This occurs when colonies
start to produce offspring that have wings,
which of course can be either male or female,
with the females being future queens.
When a future queen flies away from the colony
she's in search of a winged male from another
and hope that they can join forces
in starting the next generation of bullet ants.
After they mate, the male unfortunately dies
while the female sheds her wings
and searches on the ground for a good spot
to start her new brood.
Once she starts her nest,
her stinger actually turns into an ovipositer,
which she uses to lay eggs.
She then exclusively produces female worker ants
until the colony grows large enough to need to expand again.
It's these workers who are tasked with
the digging of tunnels, caring for young,
and defending the colony with their legendary sting.
All this to say,
it's only the female ants that have stingers.
With that being said, I have about a 50/50 chance
of actually taking another sting in this video.
It's time to get down to business.
It's time to find out if this flying bullet ant can sting.
But before we get to that this portion of the video
is sponsored by Dr. Squatch.
Now, when I'm out on an adventure,
and I'm not being stung by bullet ants,
you know what I'm probably doing?
Looking forward to taking a shower.
Because out here we sweat, get covered in dirt,
and are always in need of a good scrub
once we cut the cameras.
Because I care about the products I use,
always after the good stuff.
And when it comes to soap and shampoo,
that means Dr. Squatch.
First off, it smells great,
and that's what I immediately noticed
when I bought my first bar.
It smells natural, because it is natural.
Made of at least 98% all natural products.
It also actually cleans really well,
because I think we can all agree that the so-called
all natural options aren't always quite up to the job.
Not Dr. Squatch.
When it comes to grime, this stuff works.
And it travels well.
So it's always part of my field kit.
Here's some great news.
Not only does Dr. Squatch make awesome products,
they are huge fans of Brave Wilderness.
And because of that, they are offering their biggest
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For anyone looking for a great gift idea,
Dr. Squash bundles are clutch.
All right, you animals, be brave.
Stay clean.
Now, back to the episode.
Here we go.
See if we can grab hold without it flying away.
I know I say this all the time with ants,
but it's unbelievable how strong they are.
Oh, no, no, no, no, no.
Don't fly.
Oh no.
Angry.
This bullet ant does not want to be in these forceps.
Okay. We got a good hold.
All right, here we go.
I was afraid we're gonna lose our flying bullet ant.
They have wings for a reason.
Got that shot?
- [Coyote] Got it.
All right, here we go.
I'm Mark Vins,
and I'm about to enter the sting zone
with a flying bullet ant on three.
One,
two,
three.
I can't feel it.
Ah! mm!
There's something in my- oh, yeah, stinger's in.
Stinger's in.
Yep. It's a queen.
Mm. Mm.
Oh do you see the stinger in there?
Definitely a queen.
Got a young queen.
Definitely not a male.
- [Coyote] What's that feel like?
- [Mark] Ah, burns.
All right.
Definitely not doing it for 60 seconds again.
Yeah! Whoo.
Man. Whew.
- [Coyote] You alright Mark?
- Yeah.
Huh. I tell you what.
That burns,
but not as bad.
Oddly enough.
Definitely not as bad as yesterday.
(sound distorts) Ah!
Let me put her back in the container.
Thank you.
Oh man.
Definitely a female.
For sure.
You could see there's already raised,
I could feel, I could feel the burning.
There's already some raised, but not as bad.
There's some, there's some marks there,
but gonna have to give it a little bit
to see if the venom really kicks in.
I mean, clearly that's what the bullet ant
looked like from yesterday.
That is just over 24 hours.
You could see just how swollen
my arm is from yesterday and it's hot and tight.
It's almost like swollen up like a hotdog about to explode.
But yeah, you could see right there, you see that?
we definitely have some sting marks,
but a much much more mild venom,
like significantly less painful.
I wouldn't recommend doing it.
Don't get me wrong, this isn't good.
It's, it's not enjoyable,
but it is certainly not as painful
as the bullet ant we all know.
So I have to wonder why would the flying bullet ant sting
be less potent than that of a wingless bullet ant?
And if I had to guess, it's because this is a young queen.
They're both females,
but this young queen is destined to eventually lay eggs,
meaning that stinger is meant to actually evolve
into a device to reproduce and create the next bullet ants.
Where this bullet ant is only meant to defend.
That means that stinger needs to inflict
as much pain as possible.
I'm Mark Vins.
Be brave.
Stay wild.
We'll see you on the next adventure.