Killer Ant Finally Understood
Killer Ant Finally Understood
Scientists have puzzled over the trap-jaw ant and its vicious ways for decades. A new study, however, discovered how these tiny ants are able to take down prey a hundred times it sown weight, and why it’s the boss in the ant world.
The trap-jaw ant ambushes larger insects by first bopping them on the head, stunning the insect for a few seconds, and then waiting for its nestmates to arrive, who will then grab the prey in their powerful jaws and each pull backward until the insect is spread eagle. If that doesn’t conquer the insect, then the trap-jaw ants will use their stingers to inject paralyzing venom into the prey. They also have viselike mandibles that they sometimes use to tear a victim apart.
Interestingly, in the wild these ants live in relative peace among other territorial species. It turns out that they tend to be the boss wherever they settle down. Researchers have also witnessed the trap-jaw ants farm scale insect in the tree canopies they live in. The trap-jaw ants will provide the scale insects with protection in return for honeydew produced from plant sap. Most other ant species back down when trap-jaw ants settle in an area, following their rules in order to avoid a fight.
Do humans have any people who are like trap-jaw ants, bullying other ants and acting as the leaders of everyone else wherever they settle?