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Bullet Ant
Paraponera clavata
- KingdomAnimalia (Animals)
- PhylumArthropoda (Arthropods)
- ClassInsecta (Insects)
- OrderHymenoptera (Ants, Bees, Wasps, and Sawflies)
- FamilyFormicidae (Ants)
- GenusParaponera
- SpeciesParaponera clavata (Bullet Ant)
In 3 days ~30% in a week ~60%
35 Verified sightings at Arenal Volcano National Park From 2019 to 2026
1,371 In all 14 parks
July Best month
☀️🌙 Day & Night When it's spotted
Completed
About the Bullet Ant
Paraponera clavata, commonly known as the bullet ant, is a species of ant known for its extremely painful sting. It inhabits humid lowland rainforests in Central and South America. The specific epithet of the ant, clavata, means "club-shaped". The generic name, Paraponera, translates to "near-Ponera". Because of its fearsome reputation, the ant has several Native American, Spanish, and Portuguese local names in different geographical areas; perhaps the best-known of these is the Venezuelan nickname hormiga veinticuatro (the "24 ant" or "24-hour ant"), referring to the full day of pain that follows being stung; it can also refer to the time it takes to kill a human. In Brazil, the Portuguese names given by locals include formiga cabo verde, formigão, or formigão-preto (big black ant); Native American–derived names include tocandira, and tocanquibira, from the Tupi–Guarani tuca-ndy, which translates to "the one wounding deeply". Other names by which it is called include chacha, cumanagata, munuri, siámña, and yolosa. In Costa Rica, P. clavata is known as bala, meaning "bullet". P. clavata also has several common names in English; it is most commonly known as the bullet... Wikipedia →
Recent sightings of Bullet Ant in Arenal Volcano National Park
LIVEiNaturalistGlobal Distribution
Parks Where Found
| # | Park | Country | Daily sighting probability |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Braulio Carrillo National Park | 🇨🇷 Costa Rica | |
| 2 | Yasuní National Park | 🇪🇨 Ecuador | |
| 3 | Manu National Park | 🇵🇪 Peru | |
| 4 | Cuyabeno Wildlife Reserve | 🇪🇨 Ecuador | |
| 5 | Tambopata National Reserve | 🇵🇪 Peru | |
| 6 | Brownsberg Nature Park | 🇸🇷 Suriname | |
| 7 | Gandoca-Manzanillo Wildlife Refuge | 🇨🇷 Costa Rica | |
| 8 | Darién National Park | 🇵🇦 Panama | |
| 9 | Soberanía National Park | 🇵🇦 Panama | |
| 10 | Chagres National Park | 🇵🇦 Panama | |
| 11 | Tortuguero National Park | 🇨🇷 Costa Rica | |
| 12 | Arenal Volcano National Park | 🇨🇷 Costa Rica | |
| 13 | Cahuita National Park | 🇨🇷 Costa Rica | |
| 14 | La Amistad International Park (Panama) | 🇵🇦 Panama |
Closest Relatives at Arenal Volcano National Park
Before you go
What are the chances of seeing a Bullet Ant in Arenal Volcano National Park?
With luck
About 10% of wildlife watchers report a Bullet Ant sighting in Arenal Volcano National Park on a given day, based on 35 verified sightings from GBIF citizen-science data from 2019 to 2026. It is the 20th most-seen of the 302 insects we can rate there. Over three days the chance rises to about 30%, and over a week to about 60%, if each day is a fresh chance.
When is the best time to see a Bullet Ant in Arenal Volcano National Park?
January–February, May–July and October
In those months about 20% of wildlife watchers report a Bullet Ant in Arenal Volcano National Park on a given day, against under 5% in August–September and November–December, the lowest months.
What time of day is best to see a Bullet Ant?
Between 7 and 10 pm
Across all the parks we cover, that three-hour window holds the most Bullet Ant sightings with a recorded time, and about 6 in 10 of them come between 6 am and 6 pm: it is seen both by day and at night.
Is Arenal Volcano National Park the best place to see a Bullet Ant?
12th of 14
Of the 14 parks where we can rate Bullet Ant sightings, Arenal Volcano National Park ranks 12th at about 10%. The best odds are in Braulio Carrillo National Park (Costa Rica, about 70%), Yasuní National Park (Ecuador, about 50%) and Manu National Park (Peru, about 50%). All parks ranked.
Which relatives of the Bullet Ant live in Arenal Volcano National Park?
Same family: Formicidae
The closest relatives of the Bullet Ant that you can see in Arenal Volcano National Park (family Formicidae, Ants) are Hairy-Headed Leafcutter Ant (about 20%), Shimmering Golden Sugar Ant (about 10%) and Burchell's Army Ant (about 10%), with each one's daily chance of a sighting.
Where does the Bullet Ant sighting chance come from?
GBIF citizen-science records
It is estimated from how often the Bullet Ant is recorded against all the insects logged in Arenal Volcano National Park (35 verified sightings from 2019 to 2026), calibrated against known sighting rates. Figures are rounded to the nearest 10% because citizen-science data supports honest approximations, not decimals, and months with records from fewer than five people show "—". How it works.
