Ants can really pack a wallop despite their tiny size, and legend has it some deadly swarms of ants have even been known to take down a full-sized human and strip the flesh from their bones with eerie efficiency.
But most ants don't want to eat people so they try to avoid conflict whenever possible by acting defensively rather than attacking, because they'd rather spit in a predator's eye and have them retreat than face them and lose numbers.
Nature Is Scary posted this video to Twitter showing what happens when the woodland ant perceives you as a threat:
They squirt formic acid from their abdomens, which smells like vinegar, to ward off hungry birds such as woodpeckers and jays
Ants spraying acid pic.twitter.com/J6AFtvbXQk
— Nature is Scary (@TheScaryNature) September 3, 2017-Via Boing Boing