Myrmecia (ant) encountered before. Based on five species, the median lethal dose (LD) is 0.18–0.35 mg/kg, making it among the most toxic venoms in the insect world. The toxicity of the venom may have evolved due to the intense predation by animals and birds during the day, since "Myrmecia" is primarily diurnal. In Tasmania, 2–3% of the human population is allergic to "M. pilosula" venom. In comparison, only 1.6% people are allergic to the venom of the western honeybee ("Apis mellifera"), and 0.6% to the venom of the European wasp ("Vespula germanica"). In a 2011 Australian ant-venom allergy study, the objective of
Mutillidae 1 meter of the velvet ant it would begin contracting the organ. These contractions became more frequent as the predator got closer to the velvet ant so the shrew never attempted to attack the velvet ant. However, different scenarios with shrews have shown that the velvet ant would contract the organ after the shrew attacked it. Every time this occurred the shrew dropped the ant. The exoskeleton of the velvet ant is remarkably strong. When compared to the exoskeleton of a honeybee, the velvet ant’s required 11 times more force to crush using a force transducer. As well as being