Oh boy. Yes, I have come across those on some hikes. It's unnerving how they look up at you as if they are sizing you up, and walk backwards while still looking at you. Didn't know about the anaphylaxis, only know that the bites are very painful. Thank you!
I wasn't joking about wanting to approach them, they're fascinating. I object to people saying something is less evolved than something else as everything has been evolving and surviving the same amount of time, but they are primitive in the sense of preserving characteristics from an intermediate stage between wasps and ants. Really fascinating to see the solitary roaming/eyesight heavy foraging behaviours alongside eusocial grooming etc.
Gosh I love them, but I don't know how many stings I have left in me as it's starting to get extremely painful :p. They are just about the only animal aside from domestic cats that seem to go out of their way to do violence to you with very little provocation.
