Most of us have heard the legend of the killer ants that attack and consume everything in their path, including the occasional human being, but are the stories truth or just another animal attack urban legend? Oddly enough, this is one animal attack horror story that is somewhat true. In Africa, and tropical parts of Asia, their is a genus of ant called Dorylus that is capable of killing and consuming us. Sometimes called driver ants, safari ants, or siafu, these ants are powerful little hunters that can number over 20 million to a colony, and they use those numbers to their advantage.

Army ants have a very large head with two very powerful pincers like mandibles which they use to shear flesh from the victim. While it is quite possible, and even documented in some cases, it is rare that people are killed and consumed by these ants. One reason for this is because the killer ants are easily identified and avoided in most cases. People at risk with these powerful ants are those that can not escape due to immobility, the very old, or the very young. If you are unable to move away from them, the results can be devastating.

Death from attack by these killer ants is one of the most horrific you could imagine. The ants would overcome you head to toe, and shear at your flesh with their mandibles. It would feel much like millions of sharp stabbing sensations. The mandibles are so strong that even if you were to pick the ant away, the mandibles would hang on after the body is torn away. It is rumored that a human victims of these killer ants are often killed smothering, presumably due to the large mass of biting killer ants that might enter their noses and mouths.

As a rule, however, killer ants are a huge benefit to the natural order of things. They provide many poor countries with a sort of pest control, keeping rat populations in check. They also clean up behind other predator kills, picking the bones clean of any animals they come across that has recently died. While these powerful army ants can eat pretty much anything, they often eat earthworms, insects, and small rodents. Humans are not a natural source of food for these killer ants.

Army ants move about in what is called a column, and this column numbers so large that it is very clear. Most people see them coming and get far out of the way of these dangerous ants. Those that are victimized are usually not aware the ants are there until it is too late. This requires some type of disability or injury to prevent a human from escaping these ants. They move rather slow in comparison to most humans, and escape should be rather easy by swiftly running away. That said, if a person is disabled or unable to move for any reason, they would be in very bad shape if they were found by a column of these killer ants indeed.