Zambia – Deadly Insects – Jumper Ant – 1000 Kwacha – 2010 – Proof Colored Coin – The Jack Jumper Ant (Myrmecia pilosula), is a species of bull ant that is native to Australia. These ants are black or red and black, and may have yellow or orange legs, antennae and mandibles. Jack Jumper ants are carnivores and scavengers. They sting their victims with venom that is similar to stings of wasps, bees, and fire ants. Their venom is one of the most powerful in the insect world. Jack Jumper ants are proven hunters; even wasps are hunted and devoured. These ants have excellent vision, which aids them in hunting. The symptoms of the stings of the ants are similar to stings of the fire ants. The reaction is local swelling and reddening, and fever, followed by formation of a blister. The heart rate increases, and blood pressure falls rapidly. In individuals allergic to the venom (about 3% of cases), a sting sometimes causes anaphylactic shock. Although 3% may seem small, Jack Jumper ants cause more deaths in Tasmania than spiders, snakes, wasps, and sharks combined.

Zambia – Deadly Insects – Black Widow Spider – 1000 Kwacha – 2010 – Proof Colored Coin – Latrodectus is a genus of spider, in the family Theridiidae, which contains 32 recognized species. The common name widow spiders is sometimes applied to members of the genus due to the behavior of the female of eating the male after mating, although sometimes the males of some species are not eaten after mating, and can go on to fertilize other females. The black widow spiders are perhaps the best-known members of the genus. The injection of neurotoxic venom latrotoxin from these species is a comparatively dangerous spider bite, resulting in the condition latrodectism, named for the genus. The female black widow’s bite is particularly harmful to humans because of its unusually large venom glands; however, Latrodectus bites rarely kill human beings if their wounds are given medical treatment. The prevalence of sexual cannibalism in Latrodectus by a female spider has inspired the common name “black widow spider”. The female Latrodectus most of the time eat their male Latrodectus partners after mating. The clue to this fact is due to the potency of venom in female species, which is at least three times more potent than that of the males. Therefore, even if a male bites in self defense while being himself bitten by the female, he would succumb to his death more rapidly and has therefore more chance of being eaten. The Researchers at the University of Hamburg in Germany found that male orb-web spiders make this ultimate evolutionary sacrifice for the good health of his offspring.

Zambia – Deadly Insects – Asian Giant Hornet – 1000 Kwacha – 2010 – Proof Colored Coin – The Asian giant hornet (Vespa mandarinia), including the subspecies Japanese giant hornet (Vespa mandarinia japonica), colloquially known as the yak-killer hornet, is the world’s largest hornet, native to temperate and tropical Eastern Asia. Its body length is approximately 2 inches, its wingspan about 3 inches and it has a 0.2 inch sting which injects a large amount of potent venom.

Zambia – Deadly Insects – Tsetse Fly – 1000 Kwacha – 2010 – Proof Colored Coin – Tsetse flies, are large biting flies that inhabit much of mid-continental Africa between the Sahara and the Kalahari deserts. They live by feeding on the blood of vertebrate animals. Tsetse have been extensively studied because of their disease transmission. Fossilized tsetse have been recovered from the Florissant Fossil Beds in Colorado, supposedly laid down some 34 million years ago. Diseases transmitted by tsetse flies kill 250,000–300,000 people per year.