Of all the ants, bulldog ants are considered to be among the most primitive in general. This is evidenced by some of their anatomical features, and specific behavior. Yes, and the distribution area of bulldog ants - Australia - is conducive to being among the original relics that have retained signs of incredible antiquity.
Even if you do not pay attention to the rather sinister appearance of these ants, then in their behavior and lifestyle you can find a lot of things that do not fit in with the usual idea of ants as diligent and fairly peaceful workers. Nevertheless, bulldog ants (they are also called bull ants) are not industrious.
General description and characteristic anatomical features
Bulldog ants are one of the largest ants in general. The working bulldog ant of some species can reach a length of 4 cm. The uterus is slightly larger - up to 4.5 cm, a slight difference in size among representatives of these castes is one of the signs of evolutionary immaturity.
In the appearance of bulldog ants, their jaws are the first to catch the eye.They are very long - up to half a centimeter in length - and have several notches, which makes them versatile tools for catching prey.
In the photo - the head of a bulldog ant with well-defined jaws:
Outwardly, some species of bulldog ants resemble wasps with long mouth organs that have lost their wings. Like their stinging counterparts, these ants have a powerful sting, and one bite can even be fatal to humans: according to statistics, 3% of people stung by these ants develop a severe allergic reaction, sometimes with anaphylactic shock. According to other sources, in Australia, more people die each year from the bites of these insects than from the attacks of sharks, spiders and snakes combined.
It is interesting
It is bulldog ants that are a kind of weightlifters among ants: a worker ant can lift and carry a load weighing 50 times more than its own. One ant easily drags an adult bear or a large cockroach to the nest.
In the photo - a black bulldog ant, one of the most dangerous:
Bulldog ants jump very well, and they do this not due to their paws, but thanks to the sharp movements of their jaws. An ant can either move in a series of jumps of 10-12 cm each, or jump once, but far - up to 50 cm. It is not surprising that bulldog ants are also called jumping ants.
Bull ants also have other differences that no other group of ants can boast of at all. For example:
- bull ants swim well and are able to overcome water barriers up to 15 cm wide without problems;
- among bulldog ants there are species that communicate with the help of sounds - on their back, at the junction of two segments, there are special notches that, when one segment collides with another, cause a characteristic crack. Some species of these ants surpass even cicadas in the volume of their chirping.
But appearance is not the most surprising thing about these insects. Their biology is also quite interesting...
A little about ecology and nutrition: even wasps are afraid of these ants
Bulldog ants dig their own anthill, but their dwelling is simple and primitive, while anthills are usually very deep. The main area of \u200b\u200bdistribution of these species is the arid territories of Australia, but for the normal development of the larvae, they need moist soil. Actually, in order to reach moistened soil layers, insects deepen their nests.
Bulldog ants feed their larvae on other insects, but they themselves feed mainly on plant nectar, fruit juices, and honeydew.
See, for example, in the photo how the larvae of a bulldog ant eat a wasp brought by an adult insect:
Bulldog ants fearlessly attack insects larger than them and are not at all embarrassed if they have to fight with wasps and spiders (an example of such a battle can be seen in the video at the end of this article).
It is interesting
No matter how dangerous bulldog ants are, the much smaller black ants fearlessly attack them and often even destroy bulldog colonies due to their large numbers.
In one colony of bulldog ants, only a few hundred individuals can live, and in exceptional cases - more than a thousand.
Among the bulldog ants, there is one kind of social parasite, the uterus of which can penetrate into someone else's nest and destroy the true queen. The worker ants then recognize the newcomer as their queen and feed it and its brood until they are completely replaced by the younger generation of another species.
Bull ants do not have developed trophollaxis - the transfer of semi-digested food from one individual to another. Instead, large worker ants are able to lay so-called trophic eggs - a kind of canned protein that is eaten when there is a lack of food.
It is interesting
Most of the worker individuals in bulldog ants are gamergates, that is, they are able to mate with males and lay fertilized eggs, from which, with proper care, adult ants will develop. A case of keeping an anthill in captivity was registered, which existed for three years without a uterus, replenished only with ants from gamergat eggs. It is believed that such behavior was characteristic of ancient ants, which were just beginning their journey in improving social behavior.
Reproduction of bulldog ants
Once a year, bulldog ants have a year, during which the sexual individuals hatched from the larvae mate, the males die, and the females scatter around the neighborhood in search of a convenient place to organize a new colony.
Bulldog ant larvae feed on food brought to them by adult insects (in most other ants, adult worker ants feed the larvae with their burps).
In addition, adults do not help newborn ants get out of the cocoon.
The uterus of bulldog ants after the foundation of the anthill differs little from worker ants, only slightly exceeding them in size and having an enlarged chest.
How Dangerous Are Bulldog Ants?
Bulldog ants are considered one of the most dangerous ants in the world. Not only are their bites very painful and can lead to anaphylactic shock and suffocation, but the ants themselves are quite aggressive and very mobile.
Near the entrance to the anthill, 2-3 ants are always on duty, ready to give a signal to their brethren, and at the first danger, several dozen insects run out of the anthill. A person who inattentively sits next to an anthill runs the risk of unexpectedly getting very painful bites. On the sting pain scale, bulldog ant stings are classified as Category 3 stings - one of the most painful insects in the world in general.
For evolutionary scientists, bulldog ants are a very interesting object to study: they can be used to almost directly observe the behavior and development of insects that lived on the planet millions of years ago. Therefore, even despite the danger, these ants are actively bred in research laboratories and their family relationships are studied.
Interesting video: the battle of two bulldog ants
Wasp vs bulldog ant: who wins?..
Good article! Helped me with my biology report. In general, an excellent site - I read a lot of interesting and surprising things. Thank you!
Cool, learned a lot and could see everything!
Very cool, thanks a lot.