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
Rasberry crazy ant as cattle, have been attacked around the eyes, nostrils, and hooves. Grasslands have dried out because of the increase in plant-sucking insect pests (hemipterans), which the ants cultivate to feed on the sugary "honeydew" that they excrete. When attacked, these ant, like other formicine ants, can bite but not sting, and excrete formic acid through a hairy circle or acidopore on the end of the abdomen, using it as a venom, which causes a minute pain that quickly fades. Formic acid was named after the Latin word "formica" (ant), because it was first distilled from ants in the 17th century.