The pain caused by this insect's sting is greater than that of any other Hymenopteran, and is ranked as the most painful according to the Schmidt Sting Pain Index. It is said that it takes a full 24 hours for the pain to recede. A paralyzing neurotoxic peptide isolated from the venom is poneratoxin. The Paraponerinae is a primitive subfamily and their stings are morphologically similar to those of some solitary wasps - the ancestors of ants - and hence are often most severe, being intended as multi-purpose defensive tools rather than the more specialized weapons of more advanced ants.

The venom is neurotoxic, blocking central nervous system transmission in arthropods and producing extreme pain in mammals. Bullet ants are not aggressive except when defending themselves or their colony. These large ants belong to the primitive, ant subfamily Ponerinae. The genus Paraponera is unique and contains only one living species: Paraponera clavata. Bullet ants nest in underground colonies containing many tunnels and chambers. Rooms at the ends of tunnels are used as brood chambers.

Bullet ants are used by some indigenous people in their initiation rites to manhood (Bequaert, 1926). The ants are first knocked out by drowning them in a natural chloroform, and then hundreds of them are woven into sleeves made out of leaves, stinger facing inward. When the ants come to, boys slip the sleeve down onto their arm. The goal of this initiation rite is to keep the sleeve on for a full ten minutes without showing any signs of pain. When finished, the boys' (now men) arms are temporarily paralyzed because of the venom, and they may shake uncontrollably for days.

One of the first descriptions ever of a bullet ant’s sting on a human, was made in the 1920s by the Belgian natural historian Joseph Charles Bequaert (1886-1982). Such a sting is extremely painful and often compared with the pain caused by a bullet shot – hence the name bullet ant. For those who have not been shot but rather stung by a wasp, the pain caused by the sting of a bullet ant is 30 times worse… The ants do this by way of a retractable syringe-like lance on their abdominal tip from which they inject a potent nerve toxin into prey or enemies. The debilitating pain lasts for 3 to 5 hours and only lessens the following day. Trembling, perspiration, nausea and paralysis of the injured member are also frequently part of the bargain, and multiple stings can lead to death.

Paraponera is eusocial though relatively primitive. Queens are only slightly larger than workers (thus little modified for egg production), while mature colonies (those producing reproductive forms or winged males and virgin queens) are small and at most contain a few thousand ants. However, workers exhibit a size-based division of labor, with smaller ants tending to remain in the nest as nursemaids and larger workers serving as nest guards and foragers. New colonies are initiated by lone queens and established colonies are monogynous or have a single mated queen.

Paraponera is a generalized predator-scavenger and collects liquid droplets, prey, and plant parts. Extra-floral nectar is a principal dietary component. Liquid sucrose is strongly preferred over honey-water. Water is also collected; both nectar and water are shared with nest ants, or placed as tiny droplets on feeding larvae. Paraponera's natural enemies include conspecifics from other colonies, parasitoid Phorid flies, and an entomopathic fungus that characteristically leaves mummified spore-bearing ants clinging to vegetation. A cerambycid beetle mimics Paraponera.