Ants are the automatons of the animal kingdom. They make no decisions and have no sense of self-preservation. Their purpose in life is to serve the colony, and their role is set at birth. Some of the behaviors and adaptations various species have developed can be strange and cruel, but they serve the colony, not the individual ant.

Blood Suckers

Dracula Ants of the genus Adetomyrma live in Madagascar. They get their common name from the observation that queens and workers feed off the blood of their own larvae! Dracula ants hunt prey and bring back corpses of other insects tothe colony. The larvae, which are larger than adult ants, eat the prey and digest the protein into liquid form, which the adults feed on in the form of larval blood. The entire genus is endangered. Their primitive morphology resembles that of wasps, so scientists think Dracula ants may be the “missing link” between ants and wasps.

Swooping Down

Gliding Ants (Cephalotes atratus) live in the tall trees of the rain forests of South America. They have developed the ability to glide and maneuver like flying squirrels in order to turn a fall out a tree into a controlled dive that allows them to land on the tree trunk and climb back up, instead of hitting the ground where they would likely become food for other animals, such as the next three ant species. It is not documented whether the ant’s resemblance to a certain Sith Lord has anything to do with their gliding skills.

Painful Stinger

The Bullet Ant (Paraponera clavata) has the most painful sting of any ant. A sting feels like being shot; hence the name. The Bullet Ant’s venom contains a powerful neurotoxin that kills its prey and causes pain for up to 24 hours in humans. The Satere Mawé tribe uses inch-long Bullet Ants in male coming-of-age ceremonies, in which a sleeve or glove full of ants is worn and the stings must be borne without flinching. See a video of this rite.

Ingenious Trappers

Tree ants (Allomerus decemarticulatus) in the Amazon construct elaborate traps for other insects they feed upon. They build these traps from tree fibers reinforced with fungus. When an unsuspecting insect encounters the trap, the ants emerge from hiding underneath and pull the prey’s legs to immobilize them, almost like a torture rack. Then they dismember the victim and carry the parts off to the colony. This method of “drawing and quartering” allows the Tree Ants to dine on insects much larger than themselves.

Sacrificing for the Babies

New World Army Ants (Eciton burchelli) are found in Central and South America. When the column is on the march looking for food, people can avoid them just by stepping aside. But there have been cases where invalids have been killed (by asphyxiation) when a column of ants marches through the house. Their bite is so strong and persistent that they are sometimes used to suture wounds; just apply an ant while you hold the wound together and let it bite, then rip the body off. It should hold for a few days. The behavior of these army ants is controlled by their larvae, which give off pheromones that incite the swarm to march in search of food. When the larvae are mature and turn into pupae, they stop producing the pheromone, and the army settles down to form a nest using their own bodies as building material. While the pupae mature, the queen busies herself laying new eggs. When new ants emerge from the pupae, the eggs turn to larval form and produce more pheromones, meaning it is time to march off for food.

No Mercy

Driver Ants (Dorylus) or siafu are the masters of the swarm. Dorylus includes several species of army ants primarily found in Africa. Colonies can contain 20 million ants! Like the New World Army ants, they march in unstoppable columns, consuming everything edible they encounter. They have been known to kill and eat animals up to the size of small zebras! The soldiers of the colony flank the column. Male driver ants are so much larger than the rest of the colony that they appear to be a different species. Males lead a solitary life until sexual maturity, when they approach the colony for mating. When a male is detected, the workers of the colony tear off his wings and take him to be mated with their queen. You can watch this process on video.