Not only scorpions, bees and spiders - ant stings can also be very harmful, especially if it is an Australian Greenhead.
In fact, this ant stings so badly that researchers at the University of Queensland wanted to know why.
And then they realized that these ant stings work just like scorpion venom.
The research
New research reveals that ants, such as the Australian Greenhead ants and bullet ants from Central and South America, deliver excruciating stings by injecting venom that targets nerve cells.
These stings cause intense, long-lasting pain likened to walking on hot coals with a nail embedded in the heel.
The pain can sometimes be so severe, that most people call the Australian Greenhead's sting to be the most painful ant sting in the world.
But why is it so painful?
The venom of these ants, including Tetramorium africanum, binds to sodium channels in nerve cells, keeping them open and intensifying the pain signal.
Most scorpions use the same neurotoxin to attack and hunt.
While this sheds light on pain perception, there may be undiscovered factors involved.
It can help us understand the nature of pain better
The study could lead to new pain treatments by understanding pain at a molecular level.
