#ant #ants #armyants #antbird #parasitoid
The Leaf litter of a tropical forest is a world ruled by ants. Among the most skilled hunters in the undergrowth are trap-jaw ants. The solitary trap-jaw ant though has nothing on the dominant predator of the leaf litter, an ant that uses teamwork so effectively nothing stands in their way and few organisms can escape their grasp. The Army Ant. Few things are as spectacular as a neotropical army ant raid. Thousands of ants spread across the forest floor like a living fire, searching for prey to consume. The ravenous nature of Army ants is driven by their larvae; the ant brood requires an incredible amount of meat to mature, so much that army ants cannot afford to stay in one place when they are raising their larvae because they decimate the local populations of arthropods. The front of the swarm can move with incredible speed; Nothing incomers their movement as they sweep across the forest floor. Master architects of structures made from their own bodies, they build ramps and ladders that allow them to move with incredible efficiency through uneven terrain. This incredible teamwork is also critical in the capture of prey. Using their overwhelming numbers they can pin down and kill arthropods far larger than themselves. Once they have captured and subdued prey they tear it into smaller pieces and port it back to the bivouac, a nest made from the members of the colony themselves. These ants though are invertebrate predators hunting forest insects, even invading wasp and bee nests to eat larvae, but are unable to tear flesh from bone so vertebrates are safe, these ants won't be eating any cows or people.
They are such a force in the Rainforest over 300 other organisms are associated with them. Perched on the surrounding leaves, flies and several small wasp species watch for movement with their compound eyes. These are parasitoids, waiting for an opportunity to lay their eggs on a fleeing insect, that with luck will evade the ants only to be consumed from the inside by their maggots. A whole community of birds also follows these ants, including obligates who only feed at the raids: antthrushes and antbirds. These mixed flocks are dominated by the Ocellated Antbird. Unfortunately, with the loss of rainforest in the neotropics these ants and their associated organisms disappear; a whole community of incredible organisms, gone.
Sources
Khamsi, R. (2006, August 21). Ant's super-fast bite is a built-in 'ejector seat'. Retrieved from www.newscientist.com/article/....
Rettenmeyer, C. W.; Rettenmeyer, M. E.; Joseph, J.; Berghoff, S. M. (2010). "The largest animal association centered on one species: the army ant Eciton burchellii and its more than 300 associates". Insectes Sociaux. 58 (3): 281-292. doi:10.1007/s00040-010-0128-8.
Willis, E.; Oniki, Y. (1978). "Birds and Army Ants". Annual Review of Ecology and Systematics. 9: 243-263. doi:10.1146/annurev.es.09.110178.001331. JSTOR 2096750.
Wrege, P. H., Wikelski, M., Mandel, J. T., Rassweiler, T., & Couzin, I. D. (2005). Antbirds Parasitize Foraging Army Ants. Ecology, 86(3), 555-559. doi: 10.1890/04-1133
music
Clenched Teeth - The Descent by Kevin MacLeod is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution licence (creativecommons.org/licenses/...)
Source: incompetech.com/music/royalty-...
Artist: incompetech.com/
If you like animals and nature Please Subscribe and Like
This is Backyard Expeditions. Here you can find wildlife footage and short documentaries on the natural world. Nature is full of surprises, often amazing things are happening just feet from you door. I am a biology student who was inspired by the likes of the BBC natural history unit, PBS, and animal planet as a Child. I have also long been a hobbyist photographer, filming interesting things over time. My goal is to document interesting behavior and highlight interesting species I encounter both in exotic locations, and on backyard expeditions.
Underwater Worlds
• Life Underwater
Journey through the Undergrowth (Macro footage of insects and Arachnids)
• Insect and Arachnid Do...
Bird Playlist
• How can Woodpeckers dr...
Birding Playlist
• Playlist
Conservation Playlist
• Fundamentals of Conser...
also Check Out my Photography Adventure Blog johnjacksonphoto.blogspot.com/