Ants use jaws to jump to escape the enemy

Rocket ants can use their teeth to make a jump when they have to evade enemies.

Amazing ants use jaws to jump to escape the enemy

The mouth of rocket ants (of the genus Odontomachus) is one of the fastest moving parts of the animal world. An ant can extend the lower jaw to the sides, then shoot together at a speed of 230 km / h. The force is strong enough to throw the enemy away from the nest, or throw yourself into the air to avoid danger.

In the study, the scientists placed each of the ant ants into a plastic cup containing 4 cm of sand. Beneath the sand, they placed an Antlion - a one-centimeter-long cave-digging insect with large teeth. At the larval stage, the Antlion burrows its burrows into fine sand. Science AAAS said the unstable and sloping surface of the sand pit caused the ant to fall inside and could not escape by normal crawling.

The study results show that many ants use jaws to apply force to the ground, turning into a jump away from the hole. In 117 trials, 15% of ants survived.