Velvet ants inject venom from their abdomens
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The sting of a female velvet ant is one of the most painful in the animal kingdom. Now, researchers have discovered that these insects contain multiple proteins in their venom, which is highly effective against a wide range of victims, including invertebrates, mammals, birds, reptiles and amphibians.
Velvet ants are actually a family of wingless wasps with more than 7000 species. Researcher Justin Schmidt, who came up with the Schmidt Sting Pain Index, described their bite as “explosive and long-lasting,” while screaming you’re crazy. The hot oil from the fryer pours all over your hand.”
What is so painful to investigate, And Tracey at Indiana University and colleagues asked members of the public to carefully collect female velvet ants (Dasymutilla occidentalis) from sites in Indiana and Kentucky.
The poison was tested on fruit flies (Drosophila melanogaster), mice (Mouse muscle) and a Chinese mantis (Tenodera sinensis), a potential predator of velvet ants.
One of the peptides the team isolated from the venom, called Do6a, clearly responded in insects but, surprisingly, not in mice.
“So this means that the venom has evolved to have components that specifically target pain-sensing neurons in insects, and other components are being targeted in mammals,” says Tracey.
The team tested this further by allowing a praying mantis to try to catch velvet ants.
“We noticed that the velvet ants always escaped the mantis’ hands by stinging in self-defense,” says Tracey.
However, the mice showed strong pain responses when tested with other peptides isolated from velvet ant venom, called Do10a and Do13a.
After finding the neuron-activating peptides, the researchers compared the sequences of venom peptides from four other velvet ant species.
“They all contain almost the same version of the peptide that strongly activates pain-sensing neurons in insects,” he says. Lydia BorjoIndiana University team member. “They also have some peptides that look like general neuron activators, but with some differences. It is therefore likely that pain is similarly induced in other velvet ant species.’
The research could help develop new pain treatments for humans, Borjon says.
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