What is the scientific name of the bullet ant?

The scientific name of the bullet ant is Paraponera clavata.

This ant is the only living species in the genus Paraponera and the subfamily Paraponerinae. It inhabits humid lowland rainforests from Central America through much of northern South America, where colonies are commonly built near tree bases. Workers forage both on the ground and in vegetation for nectar and small arthropods.

The common name refers to the extraordinary pain of its sting, not to the ant’s appearance alone. Its venom contains poneratoxin, a neurotoxic peptide that affects voltage-gated sodium channels. On Justin Schmidt’s informal sting pain index, the bullet ant is famously rated 4.0+, the highest level on that scale.

Paraponera clavata was first described by Johan Christian Fabricius in 1775. The species name clavata means “club-shaped.” It is sometimes confused with Dinoponera gigantea, another large and painful-stinging ponerine ant, but that species is not the bullet ant. The Sateré-Mawé people of Brazil traditionally use bullet ants in an initiation ritual involving woven gloves.