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 fire ants. After exposure to fire ant venom, "N. fulva" retreats, covers itself with formic acid and returns to the fight. This is the first known example of an insect detoxifying another insect's venom, and the first discovery of an ionic liquid in nature which results from mixing of formic acid with venom from "S. invicta". How formic acid acts as an antidote against the much more toxic fire ant's venom is unknown. Fire ant venom is a mixture of toxic alkaloids and proteins that presumably enable the alkaloids to enter rival ants’ cells. Each alkaloid in the fire ant’s