Scariest Ant In The USA
This guy is hitting the news everywhere. He’s a type of trap-jaw ant, and he has a nickname. Rocket Ant.
He has two amazing abilities.
1. Can jump at amazing heights (3 stories if it were human)
2. Has a bite that can leave you crying.
He ain’t pretty either.
Most trap-jaw ants belong to the genus Odontomachus, named for their mandibles, or mouthparts, which are capable of opening 180 degrees.
“They look like little hammerhead sharks walking around,” said D. Magdalena Sorger.
It seems that the USA has had these ants for the past 50 years, no one really notice because of the few of number. Until now.
Many believe the crazy weather has got them stirred up and it’s why we’re just now noticing them.
“Trap-jaw ants have little sensory hairs on the inside of their jaws,” said Sheila Patek, a biologist who studies the evolutionary mechanics of movements at Duke University. Patek explained that these hairs are linked directly to the muscles that hold the jaw open. “So they can fire those latch muscles even faster than their brain can process.” -National Geographic
So according to studies, these can guys can leave you hurting and they haven’t had time to think about it yet. Not good.
Grabbing and stunning prey aren’t the only things those mandibles are good for. When threatened, trap-jaw ants fire their bite against the ground with so much force that it hurls them into the air like popcorn out of a frying pan. When a whole army of trap-jaw ants does this at once, Patek says it can get a little scary. -National Geographic
Just when you got use to the fire ants.