The secret of living ants is free in the Sahara desert

The sun, the scorching heat in the hottest desert in the world, seems to be "not intended" for silver Sahara ants.

A recent study has found that the heat of the Sahara desert is not a problem with an ant species that has developed an effective and extremely " heat-resistant" anti-heat system .

Known as ant silver Sahara (scientific name Cataglyphis bombycina ), this ant species possesses a seven-ball coat that can cause internal reflection (complete reflexes) of light as a prism , a technique also used in artificial optical fibers.

The hairs on the silver ant's Sahara are responsible for their color.(Photo: P. Landmann, Willot et al).

"This is the first time that internal reflexes have been shown to determine the color of an organism," said Dr. Serge Aron from Brussels University of Freedom.

Like the name of ants, the color is sparkling silver.

Dr. Aron and his team used a scanning electron microscope to learn about ant fur, see what happens when sunlight strikes them.

They also compared normal ants to those that had been shaved to assess how light bounces and how quickly ants warm up in the simulated sunlight.

They found that ordinary ants could reflect 10 times more light than those that had shaved their hair, and could keep their bodies cooler by up to 2 ^° C under the simulated sunlight.

Images of electron microscopy sweep the hair on ants Sahara body.

High-power microscopes reveal that each ant's hairs have a wavy surface and a cross-cut triangle. Like a prism, the hairs in the layer can then reflect light, the rays shining on each strand are subjected to internal reflection, bouncing off the last hairs instead of passing through it.

The mirror effect allows this ant to shine its silver color, which is useful for camouflage, assisting in communication between ants, and reducing the absorption of heat from sunlight. Finally help the ants from being burned.

While many of the Sahara's insects and animals must go out to feed at night to avoid the sunlight, the ants from the Sahara will be able to increase during the day. They have no fear of other species.

The special "hair" set is iridescent, covering the entire head of the Sahara ants.

"The ants leave the nest at the hottest time of the day, when the temperature exceeds 50 ^° C, pick up the corpses of the dead animals , " the researchers wrote in the report published. in PLoS ONE magazine.

"By limiting the search for food at the hottest time of the day, ants minimize the possibility of being caught by other predators. A lizard will stop all activities when the temperature becomes too hot ".

In addition to the silver hairs, the ants also have much longer legs than other ants. Long limbs keep the ant's body away from touching the hot surface. They also allow ants to run quickly into cool places after searching for prey.