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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 ~90% in a week >90%
272 Verified sightings at Manu National Park From 2019 to 2026
1,371 In all 14 parks
November 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 Manu 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 Manu National Park
Before you go
What are the chances of seeing a Bullet Ant in Manu National Park?
Likely
About 50% of wildlife watchers report a Bullet Ant sighting in Manu National Park on a given day, based on 272 verified sightings from GBIF citizen-science data from 2019 to 2026. It is the most-seen of the 366 insects we can rate there. Over three days the chance rises to about 90%, and over a week to over 90%, if each day is a fresh chance.
When is the best time to see a Bullet Ant in Manu National Park?
March and November–January
In those months about 60% of wildlife watchers report a Bullet Ant in Manu National Park on a given day, against about 30% in June, the lowest month. Those are among Manu National Park's wettest months, with about 240 mm of rain a month against 60 mm in August.
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 Manu National Park the best place to see a Bullet Ant?
3rd of 14
Of the 14 parks where we can rate Bullet Ant sightings, Manu National Park ranks 3rd at about 50%. The best odds are in Braulio Carrillo National Park (Costa Rica, about 70%) and Yasuní National Park (Ecuador, about 50%). All parks ranked.
Which relatives of the Bullet Ant live in Manu National Park?
Same family: Formicidae
The closest relatives of the Bullet Ant that you can see in Manu National Park (family Formicidae, Ants) are Ectatomma tuberculatum (about 30%), Common Giant Turtle Ant (about 20%) and Camponotus mirabilis (about 20%), 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 Manu National Park (272 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.
