- I'm Coyote Peterson
and I'm about to enter the bullet ant box.
Oh man, that is a creepy feeling
having those ants walking up and over my hand.
Oh, something's biting me.
Okay, now one of the ants has escaped
and is actually out on the table, be careful, guys,
we've got live ants amongst us.
There it is, the bullet ant tree.
Check out the size of their kingdom.
That tree is absolutely massive.
I can't believe it has been five years
since I was stung by the bullet ant,
and at this point, over 50 million of you
have enjoyed watching me roll around on the ground
in agonizing pain.
And I'm sure you're wondering to yourselves,
Coyote, why have you returned to this location?
Are you going to be stung again?
Today we are celebrating that episode,
not only its entertainment,
but also the education that came out of it,
so that you guys could learn
about these fascinating insects.
Now to up the ante, we've created something
called the bullet ant box.
Which is probably exactly as it sounds.
A clear plastic cube that is going to be filled
with stinging ants.
My hand is going to go inside,
and we're going to see what happens.
Will the bullet ant sting if not provoked?
Remember, when I was stung the first time
I physical held an ant to my forearm to induce a sting.
I know you guys are thinking,
Coyote, we showed up for the stings,
something crazy better happen.
I can guarantee you guys this much,
this episode is going to be wildly entertaining.
So if you guys are ready,
let's get started with the bullet ant box.
So why in the world do we catch 20 bullet ants
and put them inside of this clear plastic container?
Now the purpose is not necessarily to induce stings,
it's to celebrate the education
you guys have all garnered from our original
bullet ant episode.
My entire arm feels like it's having a spasm right now.
But today we're going to determine
whether or not the bullet ant truly is
an angry little creature.
What I'm going to do today
is gently place my hand and forearm into this box
and set it down.
I want to see if the ants will just walk around on me
and not get aggressive.
I know you guys are thinking,
Coyote, we showed up to see some stings and some craziness,
so we're really hoping you get stung 20 times,
maybe more, because remember, these ants can sting
more than once.
Now just in case something catastrophic does happen,
we also have an epinephrin pen.
Just in case I go into anaphylactic shock.
This poneratoxin is extremely potent,
to be honest with you,
I have no idea how my body will react
if I'm stung a second time.
So it's always good to take safety as a precaution
and if I have to inject myself with the EpiPen,
of course that's gonna be just as entertaining
as all of the stings.
Yes, bullet ants bite,
but it's the sting, which is armed with a paralyzing
neurotoxic peptide known as poneratoxin
that is responsible for putting its victim in tears.
When it's injected into your blood stream,
it specifically attacks the central nervous system,
causing extreme pain that is often compared
to the burning sensation of a bullet wound.
No reported cases of death have ever been associated
with this sting,
but depending on venom yield,
side effects can include massive swelling,
limb paralysis, hallucinations,
and muscular discomfort that can last
for nearly 36 hours.
I'm Coyote Peterson
and I'm about to enter the bullet ant box.
Here we go, one, two, three.
Right now I am just trying my best
to keep my calm.
The ants are definitely crawling all over my hand.
A lot of heat is likely registering off of my skin.
So far, no bites, no stings.
My heart is going about a million miles a second right now.
Now what I don't wanna do is shake my hand around
with any sudden movements.
If I do that, all I'm going to do is make the ants angry.
Oh man, that is a creepy feeling,
having those ants walking up and over my hand.
I'm gonna try to keep my hand in there
for as long as I possible can.
I'm just trying to control my heart rate at the moment.
I'm trying not to move my hand.
The ants are crawling around, they are investigating,
and they have incredible sensory organs
in their antennas, so they can definitely sense
that this is something alien in their environment.
At this point, they are most likely
trying to find a way to get out of the bullet ant box.
Oh, I think I'm getting bit on my wrist.
Something's biting me.
No sting, but I'm definitely getting nibbled at.
And the thing about your hands and your wrists
is that they are extremely sensitive, a lot of nerve endings
so if I do end up getting stung,
it's going to be extremely painful.
I'm going to gently turn my hand like this
just to give them another option
if they so choose.
Nothing happening.
The ants actually seem to be doing their best
to avoid my hand.
Now if I took my hand and shoved it
into the nest of a bullet ant,
their immediate defense is going to be to defend the colony.
Inside this plastic box, the ants don't necessarily feel
as if they need to defend something.
Okay, now one of the ants has escaped
and is actually out on the table, be careful, guys,
we've got live ants amongst us.
Now you guys may recall that there is a little...
Sorry, so nervous at the moment
even though I'm not being stung yet.
Now one really interesting thing
that I know you guys have commented on
in the comment section is the bullet ant gloves,
which is a very famous tradition in South America
that young boys will go through
to essentially transition between boyhood and manhood.
And the reason that people are stung
inside of those bullet ant gloves
is because the ants are actually woven into the palm leaves.
Those ants, once they wake up,
they realize that they're trapped and they begin to sting.
Those stings then become the hallucination
that these young boys go through
and eventually the spiritual journey
to transition between boyhood and manhood.
At the moment, these ants are not being pressed
into my skin.
I actually have an ant right here
walking up on the table,
kind of getting surrounded by them.
And I'm not being stung
because the ants are not feeling restrained.
A couple of them are escaping, that is completely fine,
they will just find their way back up into the forest
and eventually back to the colony.
And I think what we have ultimately proven
at this point is that while the bullet ant
may be intimidating, if you are not threatening them,
if you're not pressing them down on your skin
or attacking their home,
they have absolutely no reason to bite
let alone sting you.
I gotta say, I am truly thankful
for all that the bullet ants have given us thus far.
I don't think we could've performed a better experiment
to celebrate the five year anniversary
of "Stung By A Bullet Ant."
I'm Coyote Peterson, be brave, stay wild,
we'll see you on the next adventure.
(dramatic music)
I know you were all hoping for an onslaught
of vicious stings,
so that we could have a good laugh
watching me roll around on the ground like a big baby.
It's fair to admit I was nervous at first.
But I'm glad I was not stung
because it helps us recognize the bullet ants
are not aggressive toward humans unless provoked.
If you stomp on their mound
or hold one to your arm with a pair of forceps,
you're going to get stung.
Otherwise, they simple wanted to go about
their peaceful existence as they forged for food
in the rain forest.
Brave Wilderness found a creative way
to put the bullet ant in a very bright spotlight
and in turn, this little insect helped drive forward
a brand that now promotes conservation
and shares education around the world.
When you really sit back and think about it,
it's a pretty cool story.
So to you, bullet ant, we say thank you
for being such a super cool creature.
Oh, it's stuck in my arm!
It's stuck in my arm!
The stinger's stuck in my arm, look at that!
(wolf howls)