Bullet Ant vs Green Carpenter Bee

Side-by-side species comparison

Attribute Bullet Ant Green Carpenter Bee
Scientific Name Paraponera clavata Xylocopa aerata
Order Hymenoptera Hymenoptera
Family Formicidae Apidae
Size 18-30 mm 15-20 mm
Habitat Forests Woodlands
Diet Nectar Feeders Wood Feeders
Regions Central America, South America Australia
Conservation Least Concern Least Concern

Bullet Ant

Named for its extremely painful sting, rated 4+ on the Schmidt Pain Index. Indigenous Satere-Mawe people use them in warrior initiation rites. The pain can last 24 hours.

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Did You Know?

The bullet ants sting is the most painful of any insect — described as waves of burning, throbbing, all-consuming pain that lasts up to 24 hours without any relief.

Green Carpenter Bee

A striking carpenter bee with a metallic green or golden-green thorax found only in Australia. It nests in soft dead wood and pithy plant stems.

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Did You Know?

It is one of only a handful of bee species in the world with vivid metallic green body coloring in the genus Xylocopa.