If you thought Trench Warfare was a military tactic of the French and Germans of the past, you might want to you might want to reassess this hasty conclusion. A species of ants, known as the Allomerus decemarticulatus employs a somewhat similar tactic to catch its prey. These ants are masters in taking cover in the ground and setting up the ideal trap which is extremely successful in luring insects of a much bigger size than themselves. To find out the details of their master “torture” plan and of how they deceive their unsuspecting victims, have a look at the links at the end of this short write-up and the images provided should help you better visualize this unique and indeed ingenious method of feeding. Here is a quick summary of their grand plan:
- Using plant fibers and fungus, the ants engineer the perfect trap.
- They leave holes in the trap, big enough to poke their heads through.
- Its victim happens to land at this strategic spot.
- It finds its legs or antennas, or anything that the ants can grab being pulled and torn from it. This causes the victim impairment or even death.
- The ants in this colony, have earned themselves a meal and will carve out their winning which they will share amongst themselves.
- Here’s a limiting factor to their tactic though, the victim’s legs, hands or antennas have to be able to fit into these holes to for the plan to be successful.
I find this article particularly interesting because it is relevant to the topic of cooperative hunting we saw in the Harris Hawks as discussed in lecture. Because these ants work in a colony, they are able to feed on such a large insect which would otherwise not be possible if they were to attempt this feat alone.In fact, there is no doubt that the prey they caught collectively could be a predator if not for this method of kill.Pretty interesting reversals of prey and predator !
Besides that, the articles also mention that these ants work in a hierarchy of which we encountered during lecture again. Apparently, the oldest ants in the colony will do the work of trap building. It must come from experience that they are chosen to carry out this critical task. Any loopholes will evidently result in a failed plan which the ants overcome with the division of labor.. The younger ants will learn from their elders and the tradition will then pass down the successive generations. Reminds us a little about the archer fish too with regards to learning the exact positing from which it should sprout water and get its prey !
In sum, these articles have highlighted both feeding and predatory behavior and the importance of hierarchy in ants.
Ants; traps; torture; prey; cooperative hunting; feeding; colony; hierarchy; division of labor; group30
References
Amazing Ants Ambush Prey from Foxholes
By Robert Roy Britt, LiveScience Senior Writer ,20 April 2005
http://www.livescience.com/animals/050420_ant_trap.html
Fierce ants build 'torture rack', 23 April 2005
http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/science/nature/4472521.stm
"Torture Racks" Are First Known Traps Made by Ants, James Owen, 20 April 2005
http://news.nationalgeographic.com/news/2005/04/0420_050420_ant_trap.html